The Realms of Chaos
by Turquoisephoenix
Summary: Completed! A new threat arrives in Avalar in the form of Changeling, a sorceress who seeks to control the power over life and death using the six powerful Gigas Crystals. Luckily, Spyro is on the job, along with both his nemesis and a reluctant female.
1. An Unexpected Friendship

**The Realms of Chaos  
  
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Friendship  
  
Rating: Subject to change...  
  
Author's Notes: Well, I've finally decided to start on Spyro fanfiction. Might as well, after all I do have several characters that would fit in Spyro's atmosphere perfectly. I do not own Spyro at all, and the only things I do possess are the items/characters/places that I've created in my imagination. Any characters or events are a work of fiction, so no need getting worked up over them. :) Note that this will probably be the only fanfiction I've made with a sense of humor tied in...  
  
Notes2: The story takes place after the events of the following games: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, and Spyro: Season of Ice. Season of Flame happens after these events. Assume that Gnasty Gnorc, Ripto, and Grendor never died. (There's proof that Gnasty and Ripto never died. Just look at the epilogue in Spyro 3. As for Grendor...)**

* * *

"All is well in Winter Tundra, as it always is."  
  
A young dragon stood on the balcony of the castle that stood amid the realm of Winter Tundra, the most frozen place in Avalar. She was perched uncomfortably on the arch that separated the main castle entrance and the portal to Dragon Shores from the rest of the frozen wasteland of snow- coated portals, weather-adapted fodder, and trillions of falling snowflakes. The snow blended perfectly with her milk-white skin as it fell.  
  
"I don't see why I have to stand guard during the night _in the middle of a freakin' snowstorm_..." The dragon maiden was ordered to stand guard in Winter Tundra during the night by her overseer Elora to watch for anything 'suspicious'. After all, this was the only job that was available for a creature as unique as she was. She was a lean dragon with a graceful body that resembled that of Elora's since her back legs supported her body rather than standing on four limbs. She also was as tall as the faun was, and just as well built, even though she was about the same age as Spyro.  
  
She wasn't born from the same world that Spyro was born in, and her physique proved it. She had no horns, webbed 'ears' with cool blue webbing, biped feet, almost smooth skin, an untipped tail, and long blue wings that are able to fly without the use of magic. She wore nothing but a simple necklace made of a strong brown twine and a beautifully made shark tooth and a cool blue skirt that started from her waist and ended to her knees. The suspender that held the skirt was made of a bright yellow material.  
  
Besides, even if she were born in the Dragon Realms, she would've probably been laughed out of any considerable work, she considered with a groan. Out of all the names in the world, why was she cursed with the name 'Snowflake'? Dragons were supposed to have noble names like Aiazor or Flight, not a name used for falling ice crystal! For that reason, most of her past bosses called her by her nickname; Passiflora.  
  
"Well, at least I'm getting paid to sit here and do nothing!" Snowflake said to herself with a laugh. The one thing good about her, so she thought, was that she could sit in the middle of a snowstorm during the night without any warm clothing and not feel anything worse than a little chill.  
  
"Maybe this is why they hired me. No one would be stupid enough to stand out here in the freezing cold in the middle of the night." Snowflake rose to her feet and stretched her wings to return circulation to her graceful webbed wings.  
  
"I just wish for something extraordinary to happen, just to make it worth sitting here." Snowflake finally retorted to herself with a clever sneer on her face. She settled into a snowpile, ready to sleep the rest of the night off.  
  
**_Fwooosh!!!_**  
  
Snowflake sat up with a shock. In the distance, a large column of scarlet orange fire rose into the sky and spread a shower of embers across the land. The very sky itself was set ablaze with the strange light. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it faded away and left behind an eerie silence. The female dragon knew that her prayers have been answered in a way. Without a second thought, Snowflake leapt off her post and ran to see what had happened. _'It's a good thing nobody is awake at this time of night, or else all of Avalar would be up in arms!_' The dragon thought to herself.  
  
Snowflake used her wings to carry her over landmarks and boulders. When she finally found the place where the fire had risen, she was greeted with a strange site indeed. In the middle of the barren snow, standing next to a large yawning abyss, a figure was yelling and shaking something that was too far away to make out. Snowflake bent down low and crept closer to the scene. Luckily, her skin color hid her perfectly from view.  
  
"**You little toad! You mean to tell me that you don't know where it is?**"The figure became more than a blob in the snow as Snowflake came nearer to it. It was a large blue-furred cat, who was easily taller than the lean dragon. It wore a long maroon robe with long sleeves and a shimmering black cape that covered most of its body except for its face, hands, and a long curving tail in the back. Judging from the tone of the creature's voice and the way the cat's body sloped, Snowflake assumed that it was female. A long jagged pink scar ran down her left eye from her forehead to her chin. She was holding a torn, beaten creature that was both purple and orange in both of her hands. Strange. Why did those colors remind Snowflake of someone?  
  
"I...don't...have...it..." the pitiful form managed to choke out, and Snowflake had trouble hearing exactly what it said. The cat frowned with rage and trudged over to the edge of the great abyss. Snowflake sat up in disgust. She's going to kill that person! She scrambled awkwardly through the snow in a still-crouched position and followed the cat creature to where she finally stopped. She gave her victim a parting sneer and tossed it in without a caring thought.  
  
"Pah! I've shouldn't have been wasting my time on that weakling!" The cat said to herself as she turned away from the abyss. She flicked her braided turquoise hair over her shoulder.  
  
"He didn't even know what a Gigas Crystal was! Well, I guess even I, the great Changeling, has to find things out for herself. After all, a sorcereress can't seize the realms by wasting time on pathetic creatures..." She stormed away from the ledge without even looking behind her shoulder. Snowflake felt her blood freeze when Changeling stepped just a few inches from her hiding spot.  
  
_'Good. She's too involved to notice me..._' Snowflake concluded in her mind. She watched Changeling storm off until she disappeared with a flash of green light. The dragon ducked to avoid getting hit by stray sparks. When Snowflake was sure Changeling was gone, she took a tentative glance over the edge of the large abyss where Changeling dropped the tortured form. She gasped when she saw that the creature had not fallen to his doom, but rather had landed on a narrow overhanging cliff that had conviently formed just under the place that Changeling dropped him. Lucky for him, Changeling didn't pay enough attention to her surroundings.  
  
"Okay, I have two choices here. I could risk my neck to save whoever Changeling had beaten, or walk away and pretend that I didn't notice." Snowflake decided to herself. She turned away from the ledge and began walking back to her post. If she kept a steady pace, no one would know the difference. She took only three steps before she stopped herself and turned back to the edge of the abyss.  
  
"Oh, what the hell? I have nothing better to do anyways!"  
  
She jumped down to where the little ledge was with open wings. She landed gently on the narrow peak without even making a sound. 'At this rate, I can save somebody _and_ get my paycheck! That will show my friends back home!' Snowflake thought to herself. However, her feeling of pride and accomplishment was shattered when she felt something scorching hot touch her neck.  
  
"Don't come any closer, dragon! I may be injured, but I can still fight!" The supposedly hurt person shouted to her. Cold sweat trickled down the dragon's neck as she noticed that Changeling's victim was a bright orange lizard-like creature with torn clothes that was only worn when someone was greatly skilled in magic. A purple cape, or what remained of one, fluttered in the wind behind him. He was also holding a golden scepter with a red jewel adorned on the top to Snowflake's neck. The jewel gleamed with powerful magic, and it blistered the soft skin that protected her throat. The dragon maiden knew that he pushed the jewel further into her neck, she would choke to death.  
  
"Hold it! I'm trying to help you! I saw that Changeling toss you down here, and I came to get you out." Snowflake choked. At the tone of her voice, the wizard slightly lowered his wand. She sucked in a long breath of air to replenish the oxygen she lost while she was at scepter-point. However, she also didn't expect him to once again jab the scepter into her skin, only this time in her chest.  
  
"Do you take me for a moron? I know how your kind thinks, dragon. You'll save me from a falling death, but you'll soon hand me over to Elora and that fire-breathing purple pest! I'd rather die a peaceful death then die a toasty one." The edge to his voice was unnerving. Snowflake took one step backwards as she considered his words. There was something familiar about this wizard, but she couldn't quite place it. Why couldn't she remember?  
  
She felt a burning sensation in her chest, and realized that the wizard had become so fatigued that he couldn't even stand upright properly. He had dragged his magical scepter across Snowflake's skin and brought it into the ground to use as a temporary crutch.  
  
Snowflake smiled to make herself look innocent. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you receive medical help, even if I have to demand it!"  
  
Snowflake slammed her tail to the ground to prove her point. "Heck, I'd help you even if you were Ripto himself!" The lizard started to laugh, a sinister kind of choking cough. Snowflake raised an invisible eyebrow.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"You stupid winged lizard. I am Ripto!" Snowflake felt all of her courage drain from her body. She was actually in the company of Ripto, the same Ripto that destroyed half of Avalar, sent monsters against the civilians, and rode on a fierce green dinosaur. 'Boy, this is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done!' Snowflake thought.  
  
She felt like pushing him over the edge to be rid of him, but suddenly she felt with a pain of guilt that the idea was too sadistic, even if it meant bringing back peace to Avalar. She also felt fear. If Changeling could beat up Ripto just like he was nothing more than a stuffed toy, then how powerful was she? Did she make the column of fire she saw earlier?  
  
She heard a coughing fit come from Ripto, and realized that while she didn't feel any cold, he was freezing with several open wounds to add on to the cold. He might catch his death in this weather if she didn't act fast. Snowflake glanced back at the ledge that led back to Winter Tundra, and then turned to her rescuee.  
  
"Right now, it doesn't make a difference who you are. I'm going to bring us both back into Winter Tundra, and I'll find you someplace warm. How does that sound?" Ripto didn't respond. He was too busy keeping himself from collapsing into the frozen ground. Snowflake realized that he expended all of his energy by yelling at her. She threw up her arms in defeat.  
  
"Well, I hope this doesn't deduct anything from my pay..." Snowflake then lifted Ripto using both her hands and her tail to add support and used her giant wings to lift them both up. It didn't take long, but the young dragon found out that her wings could only handle the strain of carrying one body for a period of time. Still, she couldn't place him in freezing snow, or it'd be as bad as the abyss.  
  
'If Ripto really is up to no good, I'll let Elora take care of business...' Snowflake thought to herself. Snowflake traveled with her extra passenger until they landed under the same arch that she was standing guard on earlier. Snowflake gave a quick glance around her surroundings to make sure no one saw her commit this crime. In the section of the tundra that Snowflake had to guard, the cold wasn't as powerful as it was near the yawning abyss.  
  
"You're not like most dragons, are you?" Ripto asked quizzingly at last. He was leaning against the castle's wall. "I mean, most dragons would probably either torch me to a crisp or spear me with their horns-oh, wait. You don't have horns-scratch that. Most dragons would just leave me there to die." Snowflake didn't even bother to turn around.  
  
"In case you haven't noticed Ripto, I don't look like most dragons, don't sound like most dragons, and don't have a powerful, beautiful name like most dragons! I wasn't born in Spyro's realms, therefore I'm not a Magic Keeper, Peace Crafter, or whatever they call themselves!"  
  
Snowflake sat down in the snow with a huff. "In fact, I'm only on this frozen wasteland to pay off my student loans back at Willowbranch..."  
  
"Really? You don't work for Elora or Spyro?" Ripto's voice was filled with joy, a sinister kind of joy. Snowflake frowned; she knew that the wizard was probably scheming of some way to use her in the future when he gets better, but she pretended to not notice.  
  
"Yeah, she's my boss, but only because she's the only one that could hire me on such short notice. If I don't come back with enough money to pay off my student loans, all of my friends are going to say 'I told you so!' They think that I can't do anything on my own!" Snowflake growled at the thought of seeing her human and phoenix buddies glaring at her and saying those dreaded lines.  
  
She could almost feel their contented, sneering smiles, and the laughter rise from their throats. She cringed, but she smiled to make herself feel a little better. "Well, at least an evil villain's easier to talk to then a mound of snow. Right, Ripto? Hello? Ripto?"  
  
The orange lizard had fainted from the cold. Snowflake swore as she picked up the little orange lizard and slung him on her back. "Great. I get buried in my feelings and he gets buried in snow. Some hero I turn out to be, even if I am taking care of an evil wizard." Forgetting her original job, the white dragon jumped into the portal that led to Autumn Plains. The temperature was a big difference, even in the cold night air. The feeling of solid dry ground on her feet was heaven to her, but she couldn't relax now. Without another thought, she started towards Fracture Hills, where Elora would most likely be sleeping or finishing up her work for the night. She breathed a smoky sigh in the night air.  
  
"Boy, am I going to get a lecture tonight! I sure hope Elora can understand..."

* * *

As Snowflake ran to Fracture Hills with her 'patient' in tow, Changeling had her own problems to deal with. She was already home; the teleportation spell was an instant success. She was sitting at her favorite resting spot; a dusty old library with an ancient wooden desk piled with hundreds of spell books sitting in the middle of the room. Changeling had one in particular open. She thumbed through the yellowed pages, reading each paragraph with great interest.  
  
"Changeling, we've found another one!" A mottled green dragon came stumbling in, but it was so twisted and abused that it looked more like a winged toad then anything. Changeling didn't even look up.  
  
"Where, Wart? Tell me where you found it." The dragon waddled closer to her, his step hesitant and careful, and dropped a large diamond-shaped jewel the size of a fist in Changeling's lap. It gleamed bright yellow with a hidden power. The cat creature examined it with one of her hands, and when she found out that it was indeed real, she placed it carefully near her magic book.  
  
"I found it in the Forgotten Realms. We had to beat it out of a monster that called itself Scorch. When he told us the location we found it, but first we had to-" Changeling cut him off with an irritated movement of her hand.  
  
"Spare me the details, Wart. Where did you find it?" Changeling's voice was laced with venom. Wart swallowed nervously before he coughed out the answer.  
  
"It was in the Sorceress's bedroom. The rhynocs are deathly afraid of going in there, for they think the dreadful little monster's ghost is haunting the room. We charged in without an extra thought, and it was in her makeup drawer. It was covered in nasty veil of face powder." Wart explained. Changeling nodded as she heard the dragon's story. She thumbed through the magic book once more.  
  
"Do you know what this book says, Wart?" Changeling asked. The twisted little dragon shrugged, even though he knew where this conversation was going. The sorceress smiled as she explained.  
  
"It says that there are a total of six Gigas Crystals. One is born in the eye of the great forgotten desert, the Yellow Gigas Crystal. Another lies in the deepest cave, the Purple one. Even another is hidden in the heart of the hottest volcano, the Red one. Yet another is found in the claws of the strongest jungle monster, the Green one. The Silver one is hidden in the highest mountain. And the last is found under the deepest ocean, the Blue Jewel. We've already found two jewels, the Yellow and the Silver crystals. They're enough to command great power not even conceived by those ignorant fools we've run into, but I want them all!"  
  
"But, Mistress." Wart hissed, his voice box damaged from the alterations done to his body. "Why do you need all of them if you have enough to destroy even Ripto with just one spell?" Changeling turned to the greenish dragon, and whacked him on the head with her spell book for such a question. The poor creature shrank back and didn't say another word.  
  
"Do I have to keep reminding you? If you have all six jewels, you have the command of all life itself! I could make anyone dead with just a mere command. Imagine the worlds I can conquer, the worlds I can destroy with that power alone. Not to mention all the other powers the jewels will give me. All I need is one more and I can warp between the world planes without even using any orbs!" The cat creature rose from her seat and turned to her assistant. Her purple eyes pierced into Wart's soul.  
  
"Tell anyone capable enough to get ready to march before noon tomorrow. We're going to take a trip!" Without another word, Changeling booted Wart out of the library. After all, she needed some time to think...

* * *

**Well, this is different, to say the least. What will happen to Snowflake and her new 'friend'? What is this Changeling planning? You will find out in the next chapter!  
  
I dunno why I'm writing this, probably because I'm broadening my vision to different lands, I guess. If I get flames on this from ungrateful personal, like say, Da Dark One, then I'm going to hunt you down and demand an answer!**


	2. A Quest is Born

****

The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 2: A Quest Is Born

Rating: Subject to change...

Notes: I'm not trying to write an epic, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm willing to listen. However, if I receive any empty flames, I will either:  
  
A) Delete the flame

Or B) Hunt you down and demand a reason!

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

Snowflake didn't expect Elora to take Ripto's appearance lightly, but not like this...

****

"SNOWFLAKE PASSIFLORA LATEROSE!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID?" Snowflake shrank back from Elora's sudden outburst. Several windows shattered under Elora's voice, fine pottery exploded into pieces, and Snowflake could hear her ears ringing. 'I can't believe it! She's treating me like a two-year old!' Snowflake thought. She approached the faun cautiously, her hearing temporarily disabled.

"Elora, I had to help him." Snowflake started politely. "After all, wasn't I supposed to look out for anybody in need of our help?" The dragon forced the last bit of her conversation out through her clenched teeth. They were in the lobby of the infamous Avalar Healers Association, where Elora liked to spend in her free time. The entire building was hidden underground, which explained why all of the windows were skylights. Also, it possessed some of Avalar's most potent magic and creations. The Alchemist was the head honcho here, creating magic talismans and potions that marveled all of Avalar.

"In his case, he didn't need our help. You should've let him die in the snow." Elora hissed. Snowflake cringed; she knew by that tone that her job here was hanging by a thread. Three people already fired her, and she didn't need another failure on her resume.

"But, if you can only listen to me you will see why I brought him here!" Snowflake shouted to the miffed faun. Elora said nothing and turned towards her office, a stately room near the Alchemist's lab. It was also where Snowflake's personal record was being kept. She raced after Elora; Ripto still slung across her back, and followed her into her office. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Elora pull out Snowflake's record and get her official red marker. 'Damnit, and I was starting to like this job.' Snowflake thought.

"I'm sorry Snowflake, but I can't employ traitors. You'll have to work somewhere else..." This time it was Snowflake's turn to scream; only hers was in terror, not in rage. She grabbed Elora's writing hand with a quick claw.  
  
"Stop jumping to conclusions, you stubborn faun! He's here for a reason, you know! If you don't take the time to listen to me, then I was wrong about working here in this place!" Elora sighed as the dragon glared at her with defiant eyes. She set the pen down reluctantly, but the faun was still seething at Snowflake. "Look. The reason Ripto is here because someone attacked him with more powerful magic!" 

Elora's mad face changed into one of surprise. "I'm listening, Passiflora." Elora groaned. Snowflake sat Ripto in a chair as she explained the sight of Changeling, the rescue of Ripto, and the column of fire that shot from the ground. She made sure not to skip any details, because each detail made her job's survival more likely. When she was finished, Elora's face was full of pure terror. She moaned and buried her face into her arms in despair.

"Great. There's another wizard in Avalar, and I have to deal with Ripto again..." Elora muttered. After about a few solid minutes of wallowing in pure despair, she lifted her head out of her arms and brushed her beautifully trimmed hair back into place. 

"I will send for Spyro, but first we have to take your _friend_ to the healing ward. Don't worry; my apprentices will heal him properly. With a little persuasion of course..." She left the office in a flash of brown fur. In just a minute later, she came back with some help. Two teenage male fauns whisked Ripto away (but not without several different sounds of awe to add to the atmosphere.) and left Snowflake to her own devices.

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

When she was left alone, Snowflake walked towards the showers to think. As the warm water beat down on her scaly body, she scrubbed the filth away with a soup bar and a sponge. 

Once again, she imagined her friends glaring down on her with utter disappointment. Crystal, a tall blonde-haired human, would shake her head in shame and wordlessly curse Snowflake. Minerva, a bluish phoenix bird, would giggle softly to keep her composure. Last, but definitely not least, a defiant purple phoenix bird sillily named Doomfeather would shout several choice words at the dragon, using his unruly attitude to his advantage.

"I'll show those friends..." Snowflake muttered as she rubbed the base of her wings with a conditioner to massage her tired muscles. "I'll show them that I can amount to something..." Her ramblings were increasing in volume until she bellowed at the top of her lungs. 

"**I'LL SHOW THEM ALL**!" The showers echoed her words out into the hallway, making quite a few people nearby back away nervously.

After the shower, Snowflake stumbled like a zombie to the healing ward, the only place in the building where any beds were. The shower reminded her that it was well past a reasonable bedtime. A clock chimed in the hallway with its hands showing that it was 3:00 am. She dragged herself into the healing ward, ignoring the large crowd near Ripto's bed. As soon as she reached the closest bed, she collapsed into a deep sleep without even pulling the covers over her.

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

"Snowflake Passiflora Laterose, can you hear me?"   
  
Snowflake stirred and pulled some covers over her. "But Crystal, I don't want to see Minerva's stupid magic tricks..."she murmured subconsciously. The covers were yanked from her grasp, causing the dragon to tumble onto her back. Her eyes snapped open. 

"I'm awake!" Snowflake shouted. Her eyes focused, and she saw three famous faces look at her. The first one belonged to Elora her boss, the second one belonged to the most brilliant inventor called the Professor, and the last belonged to the greatest dragon hero called Spyro. Snowflake rubbed the eye gunk away from her eyes and sat up.

"Okay, where's the fire?" Snowflake replied sarcastically. Spyro gave her a strange look, but didn't say anything. The mole-like Professor answered her.  
  
"You see, Snowflake. We've been looking into this Changeling creature you told us about. It seems that she's a powerful witch that wants to obtain the Gigas Crystals." Snowflake wore a look that said 'I-told-you-so'. The Professor didn't catch it. "She already has two of them, and that's enough to create giant fire columns like you described, along with the power to control weather. We have a serious problem on our hands." Snowflake slipped out of her bed.

"Let me guess. You want me to collect the rest of these gems before Changeling does. Sounds reasonable, but where do I start?" Snowflake stated. She only wanted to stay at Avalar for a few weeks to make enough money to pay off her loans, not go on some gem-collecting adventure! 

Spyro smiled a toothy draconic grin to the white dragon. "You also got a head start. While Elora was tending to Shorty over there, the Professor came up with a powerful tool to track these gems down." Spyro tossed her a machine that looked like the cross between a computer and a magnifying glass. Snowflake examined it carefully.

"That, my friends, is a Gigas Crystal Tracking Device or GCT, as I like to call it. It fits in the palm of your hand and locates the power sources of the gems. It will also describe the lands that the Gigas Crystals are located in for ease of recovery, not to mention that it provides accurate maps. All you have to do is look through it when the alarms sound off, and you'll find the gem. The plan is to locate all six of the Gigas Crystals, then bring them to their rightful place, which is in the Diamond Palace." The Professor explained. Snowflake's jaw dropped.

"Wait a minute. First, I have to find these four gems scattered across Avalar, then I have to somehow take Changeling's gems, and finally I have to find the Diamond Palace, which hasn't been seen in centuries! How can I do this all by myself?" Snowflake shouted, her voice cracking in disbelief. The mole scientist chuckled.

"That's because you won't be alone. You'll have Spyro," Spyro the dragon puffed out his chest heroically, "and Ripto." Spyro's chest deflated and he gave the Professor a you-can't-be-serious look.

"What? Does he have to come?" Spyro shouted. The Professor nodded. "Sadly, we all think that the wizard would be safer in the hands of both his enemy, and his savior. Believe me, Ripto isn't going to go on a killing spree if he has the person whom saved his life near him. In fact, he'll decide against it. Also, he has something that might prove useful..." With that, he switched on the GCT on. It went ballistic! Beeps and whirls screamed across the hallways. Without another word (they couldn't tell, because his voice would've been drowned out anyways.) the Professor led them to Ripto's bed.

Snowflake looked through the GCT like a magnifying glass and saw that everything but Ripto's scepter showed up dark green through the machine. The red jewel on Ripto's scepter glowed bright white on the screen. Snowflake slowly lowered the GCT. "You can't be serious. Ripto has a Gigas Crystal?"  
  
"I didn't believe Book Boy either," Ripto stated. He had a change of clothes, not to mention he looked a lot better. He was sitting on his bed, a disgruntled look on his face. The scepter lay in his lap, where he could use it if it was needed. "I'm afraid it is so, Ripto. Your scepter has the Red Gigas Jewel. Where did you find it?" The Professor asked. Ripto shrugged.

"Well, after that _dragon _got the better of me during the Dragonfly ceremony, I left to find a new jewel for my scepter. While I was traveling along the molten rivers near where I last battled that fire-breathing lizard, I heard a large crackling sound and out came this Gigas Jewel. I picked it up, used it as my scepter, and planned for the next meeting of that dragon." Ripto explained. "In fact, that's what was on my mind while I was in Winter Tundra. Suddenly, the cat creature shows up, demands for a Gigas Crystal, but I say that I've never heard of them. When she heard that, she nearly roasts me to death, then _she _shows up!" Ripto pointed towards Snowflake.

The next thing that Ripto did was unexpected. He got off of his seat on the bed and headed towards Snowflake. He bent on one knee and kissed her hand, and caused everybody in the group to become completely star-struck. That is, except for Spyro. He was trying as hard as he could to contain his laughter at the sight. 

"I may be an evil warlock that wants to take over this world, but I have at least some morals. For saving my life, I promise that I will never intentionally do any harm to you unless the debt is repaid." Snowflake glared down at him. "Is this a trick?" 

Ripto shook his head. "Believe me, I can't take over a world if I'm dead. One of the most valuable things I've learned is that life is something that you should hold higher then riches or land."  
  
Deep down, Snowflake knew that he was just making this up. The wizard couldn't just turn from an evil dictator into a loving friend just because Snowflake saved his life. He was trying to lead her into a false sense of security so he could take advantage of her later. She smiled at him warmly. 

For now, she decided to play along.

"Okay, but remember that you must come on this silly collection quest with me." She pulled her hand away from him and pointed to his scepter. "Lucky for you, Changeling didn't know that your scepter holds a Gigas Crystal. Make sure it stays that way! No public announcements, no bragging, no 'I-will-be-ruler-of-Avalar' speeches. Understand?"  
  
Ripto nodded. "I will only try to take over Avalar after Changeling is beat within one inch of her life!" Everyone else looked skeptical, but Elora was the first to speak out her mind. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. Spyro," Spyro looked up to her. Elora whispered her word of caution into one of his ears. "Make sure Ripto doesn't go anywhere without at least one of you keeping an eye on him. Don't let him leave your sight!" Spyro nodded in agreement and gave her a wink. 

"Good! Then everything's settled! According to the GCT, the nearest Gigas Crystal is in the ancient Rainforests of Mist, also known as the Forbidden Jungle for many explorers have lost their way inside. The Crystal is in the heart of the forest, where crumbling ruins lie. Keep your spirits up and find that Crystal!" The Professor informed. The three adventurers' faces wore different expressions. Spyro had a look of pure bliss at the sound of a new adventure. Ripto wore a mask of blank expression, meaning that he could be thinking about anything. Snowflake's face said 'How was I talked into this?'

"Meet me at Idol Springs. I'll escort you on your way..." With the Professor's words; Elora and the Professor rushed out of the building into the morning air of Fracture Hills, the three new adventurers following them. Without another second wasted, the group of five raced towards Idol Springs to start the new quest.

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~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

"So, the Green Gigas Crystal is in the Forbidden Jungle?" Changeling asked questionably. Wart the dragon looked up momentarily from the large reference book that was bigger then he was before he returned to his task. They too had a good idea where the Gigas Crystal was. "Yes. It is located in the Mist Ruins, where we are sure to find the Gigas Crystal, making us powerful enough to warp between the planes separating the realms of the universe!"

Changeling sighed at her assistant's excitement as she scanned the horizon. 'Like a eight year old in a candy store,' she thought to herself. She was standing on a ledge overlooking the great Rainforests of Mist. It didn't take her long to get her there, seeing as her mansion sat near the outskirts that bordered the forests. Behind her, about a hundred dragons and lizardmen sat behind her, waiting for her next move. It was large enough to keep her from getting killed, yet small enough to not attract any unwanted attention. She brushed the hair away from her eyes as she listened to her self-appointed lackey.

"Doesn't a monster called Grunge guard the Crystal?" Changeling questioned. Wart nodded reluctantly, as if he expected to be mangled by his master for revealing a challenge blocking her way to world conquest. "Yes, my Mistress. It says that Grunge is a monster created by the negative energy of the Green Gigas Crystal to protect it from intruders. No one has ever made it past that monster yet." 

Changeling wore a look of surprise on her face. "Wait a minute. How come the Silver and the Yellow Gigas Crystals didn't have monsters to guard them?" Changeling asked. She was absently tumbling the two jewels around in her right hand, feeling their cosmic power flow through her fingertips. Wart shrugged, but she couldn't really tell since his shoulders weren't exactly level with each other. 

"Maybe since the Green Gigas Crystal was left sitting for so long that it was able to turn its negative energy into a monster. You never can tell with magic..." Wart answered. Changeling moaned. Just typical. There was information missing to her main source of power. What if the crystals had a side effect that her mutated dragon didn't catch before it was too late? The idea of her mutating into a horrible monster left a bad taste in the sorceress's mouth.

"Well, at least we have that short _lizard _out of commission; or else he'd mess everything up!" Changeling quickly changed the subject. She scanned the forests once again, looking for the telltale signs of any ancient ruins.

Wart rubbed his bumpy head; his claws permanently dyed neon green from the result of Changeling's many fun games that she liked to play with his genes. "Do you mean Spiral the dragon, or Rippy?" He asked in confusion. 

Changeling smiled mischievously. "Those were nice variations of their names, and I meant the short yappy one with the purple robe. If he decided to join our 'merry' quest, he'd just bring his brainless monsters along and mess everything up. Not to mention that Grunge would only get heartburn after munching on his carcass. Then again, it would've been amusing to-"  
  
"**Squawk!**" A giant bird interrupted Changeling's thoughts. It was an exotic red macaw with a hooped diamond earring around one of its claws. It landed on Changeling's outstretched arm, where the sorceress could stroke the bird lovingly. "Changeling, we're not alone on this quest! Rawk!" The macaw crowed. Changeling stroked its head feathers once again before answering. After all, she didn't care about a few more pests to deal with...

"Who's following us? That purple pipsqueak?" Changeling asked lightly. Spyro wouldn't give her any trouble, not with the two Gigas Crystals at her command. The macaw answered monotonously. "Yes, along with two other companions. One is a pure white dragon with an attitude, and another is a red lizard with bright clothing!"

"What? How did that big-mouthed lizard survive?" Changeling grumbled. The parrot, feeling uneasy with his master's developing mood, flew away to a safer place. She seethed for a few moments before regaining her composure. "Ah well. He's just another vermin to get rid of. I'm sure that if Grunge doesn't get him, his companions will!" She turned to Wart. "Wart! It's time to go to the Mist Ruins. Tell our men that its time to start marching." Then, she quickly added. 

"Also, tell them that if they see any purple or pure white dragons on the mission, they can break any bone in their bodies. I've heard that dragon skins make nice armor if you skin them right!" Her thin lips parted into a grin as she glanced in the direction of the large group of scaly monsters. Wart felt his soul turn to mush underneath her gaze. 

"However, if they find Ripto, hand him to me. I want to feel his last heartbeat against my claws. I want to see him die with my own eyes this time around!" Wart shivered, but he followed Changeling's orders. What did Ripto do to cause Changeling to hate every last atom in his body? After all, she could just make Ripto a brainless servant to her forces, like she did with several rebellious youngsters. 

He shook the thoughts away and ran off to alert the lizard command, leaving Changeling to her own devices. In fact, Wart was so absorbed with his work; he didn't notice the large column of fire rise just behind him...

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The Rainforests of Mist were more beautiful then Snowflake suspected. Beautiful flowers coated with dew sprouted everywhere and filled the place with color. Trees made the canopy turn bright green with the filtered sunlight that rained through the leaves. Everything in the forest was beautiful. That is, everything except for the mood that the three travelers were in.

"Why am I stuck with you of all people?" Spyro hissed.

"Well, at least I'm not friends with a brainless cheetah and a flighty goat!" Ripto hissed back.

"Wha? She's not a goat! She's a faun, you-"

"Shuddap! Both of you!" 

Snowflake butted in between them, stopping a fight before it started. The two reptiles both glared at each other's direction before starting the march again. The female dragon sighed in defeat. 'I should've stayed at Willowbranch.' she thought as she whacked away another stray branch with her right hand. 

The sun was still high in the sky, but neither of her companions' moods had changed ever since they left the going-away party at Idol Springs. Sure, they acted like good buds in the company of the carpenters, but once they entered the forests, their true colors emerged. The carpenters were kind enough to hand them three backpacks full of provisions, but Snowflake carried all three of them. To make sure that Spyro or Ripto didn't torch any provisions during their flame-happy fights, she carried them across her back.

"You know, compared to you two, being trapped between several debts and three sneering friends was heaven! What if Changeling's also in these rainforests?" Snowflake complained. That shut them up. Immediately, they stopped seething at one another. Spyro observed the forest area around him.

"As a matter of fact, it is kind of quiet..." Spyro murmured. Snowflake nodded subconsciously, her heartbeat thudding against her chest. She did notice that the birds weren't singing as usual, but she thought that Spyro and Ripto were the cause of it. Spyro's eyes darted from one suspicious-looking bush to the next. "I don't like this..."

"Ignore it! Just keep moving! Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away!" Snowflake shouted, her voice masking her uneasiness. However, it didn't help conceal her fear. Still, she relentlessly marched on through the forest in the direction towards the Ruins. Spyro and Ripto, knowing that she was holding the GCT, followed her and kept their eyes to the flora in the surrounding area.

__

It's just a forest animal...It's just a forest animal!

Little did she know, her suspicions were going to be proven wrong...

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

Remember to review! I'm taking off valuable time off my summer to be typing this! :)

As for the next chapter, someone else's fan character is appearing in the story. Also, please be courteous. No flames unless you want to meet the business end of Ripto's scepter! :)

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	3. Grunge, Keeper of the Green Gigas

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The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 3: Grunge

Rating: I don't even know anymore! :p

Notes: This story is getting reviews fast! Hmm...Judging from the progress of this story, it's probably going to end up with about 15 chapters. (I'm just making an estimate, so don't fret. ^_^) I'm also adding a fancharacter well known in the fields of Spyro fanfiction. He's known as Nazza, the blue wolf. I got permission from Nazza himself to use him, so no suing!

Notes2: This chapter takes on a more humorous side, especially during the "Bridge" sequence. Read on to see what I mean. A little dry humor never hurt anybody! :p

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~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The sun had set and revealed a stunning canopy of stars and a full moon that hung above the treetops. The oddball group of three had been trudging through the rainforests for about five hours, and they were well aware of the presence of a persistent enemy. At first, they were moody and on their best guard when the three of them had discovered the enemy's presence, but after about two hours of walking with their weapons at hand, they decided to just forget about it altogether.

"Where the hell are these ruins anyways?"

No one answered Ripto's half-hearted complaint as they chewed their dinner. Spyro found a stream nearby and caught some fish by skewering them with his horns, while Snowflake found a coconut tree and knocked some fuzzy fruit down to earth. After the food was collected, the group found a clearing surrounded by underbrush and large towering trees. The fire was easily provided with the help of some dried plants and Spyro's flame breath. 

"Quit complaining, Ripto. This gadget that the Professor gave me says that the Mist Ruins are within a few miles from here. I think." Snowflake didn't reveal to her companions that the GCT that the Professor made had a very poor map for them to use. Sure, it showed them a map of the Mist Ruins, but it didn't reveal the obstacles that the Rainforests of Mist possessed. They could accidentally walk off a cliff if they weren't careful.

"Leave it to the Professor to leave out some important coordinates..." Snowflake stated half-heartedly to herself. She tossed the remainder of her fish dish into the bushes for whatever was following them to eat. With a rustle of underbrush, the fish was nowhere to be seen. 

"Whatever is following us is taking its sweet time..." Spyro growled. Smoke was curling from his nostrils angrily, which meant that the dragon was not in the best of moods. The other two nodded mindlessly in agreement, exhaustion taking its toll. Suddenly, an idea popped into Snowflake's head. 

"If you're so paranoid about it, why didn't you torch the sucker by now?" Snowflake asked. She was poking the fire in a zombie-like manner. Spyro turned to her, his eyes lit with a mischievous new light. "That's a great idea, Snowflake! Why didn't I think of it?"

Spyro lifted himself off his comfortable seat near the fire and stepped closer towards the underbrush where the creature was hiding. His nostrils flared. "I should've done this hours ago!" He took a deep breath and instantly the shrubbery burst into flame. The night was filled with only the crackling of both the campfire and the brushfire until a small fireball burst into the clearing where the group's campfire rested.

"Ouch! Hot hot hot hot hot!" The creature screamed. An animal about the size of Spyro fell to the ground and rolled across the ground to put out the fire spreading across his furry coat. As the animal's fire put itself out, Snowflake stomped out the bushes that Spyro lit before it spread to any other plant in the rainforest.

"What were you thinking, Spyro? Are you trying to barbecue me?" Now that the fiery shroud was gone, it revealed the tagalong animal to be a wolf. The group could see that the wolf's fur was a dark shade of blue where the fire didn't burn. The wolf lay on his back, his long tongue panting from the heat he absorbed from Spyro's attack. His eyes were an unusual shade of green. Spyro, to everyone's surprise, recognized him.

"Nazza! Why were you following us and scaring us to death?" Spyro shouted. Nazza grinned, flashing sharp canine teeth.

"When I heard that a sorcerer was in the Rainforests of Mist, I decided to follow you, Spyro. But, when I saw Ripto, I thought that you were under some mind-control spell and then decided to follow you guys to see what Ripto was up to. I was going to wait until all three of you went to sleep so I could tear Ripto's throat out, free my friend, and become a hero. I see that isn't the case if Spyro came up with the idea to burn the same bush that I was hiding in. Ripto would never be that clever..." The canine rose to his feet to shake off the ash and burnt fur from his body. He glanced at Snowflake, his eyes burning intensely with a rebellious spirit.

"Who's the dragon chick? Is she your new girlfriend Spyro?" Nazza asked mischievously. Spyro gave one glance at the white-scaled female, and then quickly changed Nazza's opinion.   
  
"She's Snowflake, the one who got us involved in this mess. She saved Ripto from freezing to death at Winter Tundra and she spotted Changeling, the sorceress we're going after. We have to collect a few Gigas Crystals and return them to some forgotten temple or something." Spyro explained. Nazza flashed a toothy grin at Snowflake.

"You're either very caring or very stupid to save a worm like Ripto." Nazza stated as a matter of factly. Snowflake frowned at Nazza, but she felt her cheeks turn a shade of pink. The wolf had a knack for speaking his mind; Snowflake gave him trust for that. Then again, how in hell did Spyro make friends with such a character in the first place?

"Hello? Will you stop talking like I'm not here?" Ripto called. The short wizard crossed his arms and surveyed Nazza with a wary eye. Snowflake and Spyro backed away from both of them, watching both the wizard and the wolf with great amusement. "Are you thinking about tagging along? The more people in a group of adventurers, the easier for Changeling to track us down. You might as well move it, unless you know the way to the Mist Ruins from this leafy prison..."

Nazza growled and stepped so close to Ripto that his nose was inches from his face. His eyes pierced into the reptile's soul. "As a matter of fact, I do know the way to the Mist Ruins, but a large monster guards the Mist Ruins. Are you planning on throwing Spyro and Snowflake into the monster's den and dash off to claim the world?"

There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Before things could become too violent, Snowflake butted into their argument. "As a matter of fact, we're in this miserable forest to snatch the Green Gigas Crystal. The only way to retrieve it is to go into the Mist Ruins and somehow get past this 'monster'. If you agree to help us, I'll do my part by keeping an eye on Ripto. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Ripto started to protest, but Snowflake gave a dirty look that silenced him. "But, he does have a point. If Changeling is also searching for the Gigas Crystals, there's a good chance that she's here too. Just lead us to the Mist Ruins and leave us to our own devices. Deal?" Nazza didn't have to think twice. He grasped Snowflake's claw and shook it to seal the deal.

Sadly, Snowflake didn't catch the mysterious glitter in Nazza's eye when he said; "you can count on me, Miss."

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

It took two long days to finally reach the legendary Mist Ruins.

With Nazza as their navigator, Spyro, Snowflake, and Ripto had to cross many deadly obstacles that the Rainforests of Mist possessed. They had to cross deadly rivers filled with rapids and sharp rocks, run through areas filled with lizard-like natives, and dodge several areas filled with fallen debris. Each obstacle gave the travelers new wounds, ranging from a small insect bite to Spyro nearly losing his foot while climbing a steep rock terrain.

One dangerous incident included a deadly river that snaked near the area where the Mist Ruins lay. Nazza took one look at the churning rapids and proclaimed, "We'll cross these rapids or we won't see the Mist Ruins for another week or so." Nazza's traveling partners, who all looked worse for the wear, quickly agreed to take the fastest route without thinking of the consequences.

Snowflake, who looked like she was dragged through a pathway full of mud-covered thorns, added, "How are we going to cross this thing anyways? Only two of us have wings and we surely can't carry both of you..." Nazza gave Snowflake a bold look and suggested another way to cross. 

"See that tree over there?" Nazza indicated a tall knarred thing that looked like it was about to collapse from its own weight. The other three surveyed it with a wary eye. "We'll make a bridge from it and cross this river before dusk!" 

Nazza always had the final word, for he was the only one among them who had a plan, and soon everyone was uprooting the tree in the best way possible. Spyro and Ripto both sent raging fireballs at the tree's base, while Snowflake tackled it repeatively with all of her might. It didn't take long for the tree to fall into the water with a giant splash. Soon, everyone was on the makeshift bridge doing their best to keep their balance.

"This is actually a good idea! I thought this tree couldn't hold all of us at the same time!" Snowflake exclaimed as she balanced perfectly with both outstretched tail and unfolded wings. As if on cue, the tree groaned loudly underneath their feet. The four of them froze instantly, each of them surveying the bridge. Before any of them could utter an "Uh-Oh", the bridge fell apart and plunged everyone into the icy cold rapids.

There was a moment of eerie silence, until Snowflake burst out of the river choking and shivering. Spyro burst out of the water in a similar fashion, only a few pieces of driftwood were comically pierced on Spyro's horns. Their wings keeping them aloft, they searched the river for any remains of the others. "That wolf! He probably knew that the tree was a deathtrap..." Snowflake muttered to Spyro as they fluttered down the river to find their friends.

They found the rest of the makeshift bridge caught in-between two conviently placed boulders. Spyro found Nazza on the opposite riverbank; pieces of wood lodged in his fur like a porcupine's quills. Snowflake searched the ruins until she found something that caught her eye. With a dive that could make champion swimmers jealous, she pulled out a soaking wet Ripto, scepter and all. "When are you going to learn how to save yourself?" Snowflake told him. The wizard glared at her but said nothing.

When the four of them were all on the opposite riverbank, Nazza told them, "see? I told you we'd make it to the shore before dusk!" The other three all exchanged surprised glances before they all collapsed in exhaustation.

"Was it something I said?"

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The Mist Ruins were more beautiful then any of them suspected it to be.   
  
The mysterious ruins consisted of a grand stone palace sugarcoated with creeping vines that gave the Mist Ruins a lovely shade of green. Snowflake guessed that before this place became abandoned ruins, it contained a vast civilization within its walls. A stone fountain complete with little spitting angels sat in the courtyard of the ruins, the angel's mouths forever silenced with forest debris. A creepy veil of mist hung within the ruins, keeping the place true to its name.

Snowflake turned on the GCT. The machine made a faint pulse of beeps and bloops as it sensed a Gigas Crystal nearby. "The Green Gigas is in the middle of these ruins where a large garden could've been before this place was abandoned." Snowflake exclaimed. 

"Well, this is easier then I suspected it to be. Let's just run into the ruins, grab the crystal, and get out of this damn rainforest!" Ripto complained. The group of three soon dashed into the ruins without another word.

Nazza didn't join them. He waited in the abandoned courtyard, watching the quickly disappearing group with a grin on his muzzle.

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~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The Mist Ruins were surprisingly intact on the inside, with the exception of the shroud of plant life on the ruins. In the hallways, Snowflake could easily see rooms closed in a tangle of vines and storage rooms torn apart by creeping flora. Beautiful blue flowers bloomed where weak sunshine penetrated through the ruins and filled the area with an alluring scent. The only sound in the ruins were the sound of the three travelers and the bleeping of the GCT.   
  
"We're almost there!" Snowflake shouted over the gradually loudening bleeps. Her walking pace became a sprint as she followed the GCT. Spyro dashed off after her, his claws kicking up a storm of dust. Ripto, who wasn't the best of runners, had to dash off after them in hopes of catching up with them.

Soon, they had to turn the sirens off when they finally appeared in the abandoned gardens. At this time the GCT's sirens destroyed the peaceful setting of the ruins, not to mention that they could probably accidentally wake some sleeping threat. With the sirens gone, the only sound was their breathing as they scanned the area. Mist blocked out the sun, giving the garden a ghastly feel. The gardens themselves were covered completely with a large blanket of forest litter. Everyone gasped, for in the middle of the leafy litter was the Green Gigas Crystal, glowing like a beacon of hope for the travelers. Snowflake took a tentative step closer to the jewel.  
  
"Wait a minute." Snowflake stopped. "Didn't Nazza mention a monster guarding the Gigas Crystal?" Ripto recalled, still out of breath from his jog. Just then, something clicked in all of their minds as they noticed that the leafy litter around the Green Gigas Crystal didn't seem as spread out as ordinary forest litter. Somehow, the litter seemed connected like the fur on an animal. As if to prove their suspicion, the leafy litter slightly shifted like a subtle wave on a calm ocean.  
  
"I don't like this. I have the itching feeling that something's watching us..." Spyro murmured. Snowflake turned her head hopelessly towards the Green Gigas Crystal, which symboled her freedom from this accursed forest. The weight of the three days of pure hell suddenly replayed in her mind and gave her new momentum in her feet. Without thinking, the she-dragon dashed madly towards the Green Gigas Crystal.

"Snowflake, you moron! You don't know what's out there!" Ripto shouted. The calm waves among the litter became violent vibrations as Snowflake neared the crystal. She was mere inches from touching the crystal when the litter swallowed it. As quickly as the crystal had disappeared, the litter formed into a large bulge and knocked Snowflake several feet away, making the hapless dragon land on her back.

"What the?" Snowflake exclaimed, her bruises forgotten. The litter began to form into a body resembling a giant hunched body made of dead leaves and mildew. A serpentine head formed just above Snowflake's head, burning red eyes glaring down on her. The crystal glowed in the monster's gaping mouth. Its voice seemed to rise from the earth itself.

"Hmmmm....You're very brave, but also very unwise." The Green Gigas Crystal disappeared down the monster's throat. Snowflake got to her feet and brushed herself off. Her friends rushed to her side, their weapons in hand. To make sure she wasn't completely defenseless, Snowflake grabbed a hefty looking stick from the ground and held it like a club in front of her. The leafy monster seemed to grin down on them. "Such brave travelers. Grunge has not received many visitors. Every visitor comes only for the Gigas Crystal."   
  
"Yeah, the jewel. Listen Grunge; we need that crystal badly. That's what we came for." Spyro exclaimed. Grunge laughed heartily, its leafy body rippling. Some parts of its body fell down to the ground in front of them.

"For what? Money? Fame? Science? Grunge knows the excuses, and the tellers. You may not see it, but inside Grunge are the remains of countless travelers, all wanting the same thing. The Crystal. Grunge will continue to guard the Crystal until Grunge rots in these Ruins of Mist..." The monster's voice alone was enough to drive shivers down their spine.

"We don't want fame or fortune! We want to stop Changeling!" Snowflake exclaimed. Grunge eyed her warily. "I've heard of Changeling from my lunch before. The sorceress does have a lot of nerve to mess with the Gigas Crystals, but there's nothing any of you can do." An awkward silence fell amongst the three of them as each of them looked for an effective comeback. Suddenly, the disgruntled short wizard spoke up.

"Why not? We traveled through the Rainforests of Mist, found the Mist Ruins, and met you, the guardian of the Crystal! What makes us unworthy of the Green Gigas Crystal if we already have the Red Gigas Crystal? Tell us that, you talking compost heap!" Ripto hissed. The mist seemed to get heavier by the minute. The leafy monster remained stoic and intimidating. The monster breathed a musky sigh before answering.

"Let me tell you a story about the Gigas Crystals. Ever since the dawn of time, the six powerful gems have been kept in Diamond Palace, keeping the balance of this world. The Gigas Crystals are made by the pure energy of Avalar, each one with a different purpose for unity. However, all good things must come to an end, for the Diamond Palace was robbed and stripped of its riches by the evil sorcerer called Otpir the Merciless. Avalar was devastated by Otpir's rule, but soon he was overthrown by the darkness of his own power and the Gigas Crystals scattered across the world. While some may be obtained with ease, others aren't so simple to get. Like the Red Gigas Crystal controls the power of Rage and Fire, the Green Gigas Crystal controls everything with a direct bond to Mother Nature. Some monsters can be yielded and tamed, plants can be made into weapons, and earthquakes can be summoned all at will. Only one of Pure Mage blood can hold the Green Gigas Crystal without absorbing its corrupt power."  
  
Snowflake considered the creature's words. "How are we going to obtain that crystal then? Do we have to fight you for it?" Grunge shook its massive head. "No. While that is the way of my brethren, I do not support violence. Besides, with that living torch by your side, you would unfairly turn Grunge into a pile of ash!" Spyro blushed slightly. "Wisdom is the object I seek, and the wisdom of only a Mage descendant is needed for the crystal."  
  
Ripto tapped his foot. "We're listening. Tell us what we need to do to prove this 'Pure Mage wisdom'..." Snowflake sighed to herself. Ripto still managed to keep his smart-alecky mood, even in the face of a large monster made of mold and dead plant matter. She thought that Ripto was a Mage, but these Pure Mages sound like they don't need the aid of a magical scepter to cast spells. Who in this group is of Mage blood?

  
"All you have to do is tell me what happened to cause these Ruins to become abandoned. If you get it correctly, I'll hand you the Green Gigas Crystal. Purple Dragon, you start." Grunge stated. Spyro looked at the surroundings around them and raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that the rainforest spread a deadly disease to this place, which explains why I'm talking to a large plant monster here!"

"I'm sorry, but you're wrong. You're next, Shorty." Grunge said in a dull tone. Ripto fumed. "Don't call me Shorty!" He too looked at the surroundings around him. He studied Grunge as well. "Did you rampage through this place and eat everyone in sight?" Grunge growled in annoyance. "Everyone always guesses that! The white dragon, you're next. If you're wrong, then I'll have no choice but to prevent you from revealing my presence in these ruins..."

Snowflake flinched at the thought of being eaten by a plant monster. She studied the area around her just like her friends. "When Otpir the Merciless was overthrown, the Green Gigas Crystal was thrown here in the middle of this prosperous palace. The negative energy effected the area around it, and the people. The place shows no sign of any struggle, disease, or slaughter. It looks calm and peaceful, as if it didn't deserve to be abandoned..."

Grunge lowered its head until it was eye-level with Snowflake. It gazed into her eyes until it admitted that she was right. "You're right. When Otpir was overthrown, the Green Gigas Crystal landed right in this area, right in the middle of the Festival of Rain. The negative power of the Green Gigas Crystal effected the first person to touch it, causing the poor human to be fused with the energy of the Gigas. The people fled at the sight of the newly growing monster, and the place was labeled as an accursed place. Anyone who entered these ruins died at the hands of the product of the Crystal, which gave this jungle the nickname, "The Forbidden Jungle". Only one of Mage blood can handle any Gigas Crystals without suffering any dangerous side effects, and only a Mage can have such foresight."  
  
Ripto, at the sound of the new warning, quickly dropped his scepter to the ground. "Do the effects differ from Crystal to Crystal?" Ripto asked. Grunge looked towards the Red Gigas Crystal. "I'm sorry I can't help, but I have no knowledge of the other Crystals' effects. You'll just have to wait and see what happens." The tone in Grunge's voice didn't comfort him at all. Reluctantly, he grabbed his scepter, his only source of power. 'Great, my power might be a double-edged sword,' he thought.

Grunge coughed sickingly, and then the Green Gigas Crystal plopped to the ground at Snowflake's feet. Snowflake looked up at the monster. "When the Gigas Crystals are reunited, are you going to turn back to normal?" Grunge's expression turned into one of surprise. "What do you mean by that?" Snowflake smiled. "Because, you mentioned a human fused by the negative power of the Green Gigas Crystal, and you are a product of the Crystal, so I just put two-and-two together."

Grunge smiled at her. "You may not be fully aware of your powers, but I have the feeling that you'll do wonders. Just keep both your friends and your hope, and you'll grow into one of Avalar's finest heroines..."

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

As the others received the Green Gigas Crystal, Nazza stood watch in front of the Mist Ruins. He has a bored look on his face as he stood stoically in front of the ancient fountain. One might say that he was doing his friends a favor, but there was more that met the eye in Nazza's case. He wasn't really standing guard for his friends; he was in fact waiting for someone. Someone that he didn't mention to his friends...

"Did they go into the Ruins, wolf?" 

Nazza jumped at the sound of the scratchy voice behind him. He suddenly turned, and stood face to face with Changeling's mutated dragon lackey. Nazza growled. "The name's Nazza not Wolf, and why isn't that cat here? I didn't agree to talk to a misshapen excuse for a dragon!" Nazza hissed. The tone of Nazza's voice was enough to make Wart back away slowly from the blue canine.

"The Mistress is preparing her fleet to travel into the ocean. She sent me here because she called me "expendable". I still don't really know the meaning of that word..." Wart babbled. Nazza did, and it was enough for Nazza's muzzle to turn into a nasty little smile. "Why didn't you say so? Many pardons, my friend. I just want to make sure that she keeps her end of the bargain..."

It took Wart a while to remember Nazza's little bargain, the one that he was forced to agree to by Changeling. His memory was as warped as his body, which made it very hard for Wart to remember even his childhood, but he did remember the day Nazza and Changeling first crossed paths. What he remembered was an angry Changeling holding Nazza in front of her face by the scruff of his neck, a sneer on her face. "Help us find the Gigas Crystals, and I'll spare you and your brightly colored friends. Disagree, and I'll be wearing an all-natural wolf-skin coat!" Nazza had glared at Changeling, his face never-changing. "Burn in hell, witch! I'll help you, but as soon as you find those Gigas thingies, your throat is mine!" Nazza spat out. Changeling smiled happily at him. "I knew you'd see it my way..."

"Your friends are in the dungeons of her mansion, but I assure that they're well fed. In fact, they eat better then me!" Wart exclaimed. Nazza studied the mutated dragon standing in front of him, and added sarcastically, "That's a comforting thought." Nazza turned towards the entrance of the Mist Ruins. "What about the Green Gigas Crystal? Ripto, Spyro, and that skinny broad will have it, not us!"  
  
Wart smiled at the navy blue canine. "Don't worry. I'm well prepared..." Almost on cue, the bushes behind him revealed glowing yellow eyes. Sinister hissing was heard in the bushes. Nazza flinched. "What are those?" He asked. Wart answered too calmly for comfort.

"They're Tyrusian Lizardmen. I brought them for a little 'insurance'. I'll make sure they hand-deliver that jewel to us personally!" Wart's words echoed throughout the silent forest....

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

Curse you, writer's blocks! CUUUUURSE YOOOOU!  
  
*cough* Remember to review, okay?  
  
BTW, Nazza's friends that Wart mentioned are none other then the Psychotix, more of Nazza's characters. Heh. I don't own them, so no suing! :D

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	4. Complications

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The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 4: Complications

Rating:...Any suggestions? :p

Notes: Yep, this will probably end up to be my longest story yet! (I thought Concealment of Evil would take that title, but it only has seven chapters..) I'm also going to thank my fans for sticking by my side through thick and thin and supporting this little Spyro story I'm creating. Give yourself a pat on the back for making it this far! ^_~  
  
Disclaimer: If you think that a fanfiction writer would own Spyro, then you need to get off this website and seek some help quick! I want to own Spyro, but then I wouldn't know what to do with him...

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~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The troublesome trio walked down the hallways of the Mist Ruins, their spirits lifted from the receival of the Gigas Crystal. Snowflake, being the only one who could carry it, held it in her hands like she was caressing Avalar's life force in her hands. Spyro trotted happily beside her, for one less Gigas Crystal to find meant that he would see Elora sooner then he realized. Ripto stomped moodily on Snowflake's other side, his scepter held reluctantly in his hand in knowledge of the damage it was probably causing to him right now.

"I wonder what Grunge meant when he called you a mage, Snowflake?" Spyro asked suddenly, his voice shattering the eerie silence. Snowflake shrugged indifferently as she continued on walking. 

"I dunno if I'm really a mage at all. I just got lucky that time. There's no magic to guessing what happened to a destroyed civilization..." Snowflake spoke her mind, although deep down she really didn't believe her words. She knew her mother was just a sea bound traveler of Tylia that traded fish and rare shells for profit, but as for her father...

"Two down, four to go. After that, I'll have these accursed things out of my life for good..." Snowflake heard Ripto mutter to her side. He was the only one who wasn't happy with the outcome in the Mist Ruins' gardens. She felt a small pang of pity for the troubled wizard, and then offered her advice. "You know, if you want I can take that Gigas Crystal out of your hands if it's bugging you. After all, Grunge said that the Gigas Crystals' radiation couldn't affect me."

Ripto turned his head and gazed into her eyes. "You know, you're too nice. I hate that in a dragon. Besides, if I gave you my scepter, I would be left helpless!" Snowflake agreed that Ripto had a good point and resumed walking. However, she now had another thing to worry about in the scheme of things; the Red Gigas Crystal and its effect on Ripto. _'He'll be fine. It's not like he's new to this whole "magic" thing like you are.'_ A nagging voice reassured her inside her head. 

The rest of the trip through the Mist Ruins, they walked in silence. It wasn't long until they were in the Mist Ruins' courtyard; the place where they last left Nazza. Nazza was standing by the ancient fountain, a bored look etched on his face. When he noticed the three of them come out of the ruins; he bounded up to them in an ecstatic manner.

"Hello there, my friends! Did you receive the Green Gigas Crystal from the ruins?" Nazza asked. Snowflake smiled and wordlessly held out the crystal in front of Nazza's muzzle. Nazza gazed at it, entranced by the magic power flowing through the jewel. _'So, this is what Changeling's been looking for all these months. I can see why.'_ Nazza thought to himself.

"Neat crystal!" Nazza exclaimed as he gazed at the crystal. He then shifted his gaze to Snowflake and asked, "Can I see it for a moment?" Something flashed in Nazza's eyes as he asked that question, a new dark emotion that sent a chill down Snowflake's spine. She flinched under Nazza's cold look, but she figured that since the wolf couldn't touch the Green Gigas Crystal anyway, it wouldn't do any harm for him to look at it. She set the jewel down into the dirt for Nazza to look at it.

"Thank you very much, dragon. Changeling will be very pleased." The words took a while to register into their heads. By the time they did, Nazza was leaning against the dead fountain and was holding the Gigas Crystal in his right palm. "Nazza! I wouldn't touch that if I were you. It's full of nasty radiation! If you hold it for too long, you'll mutate into something hideous!" Spyro called out. Nazza paid no visible heed to his outburst as he held the crystal in his hand. He grinned at them.

"No, that won't happen to me. The Green Gigas Crystal's radiation can be shielded with the proper tools, like this glove I'm wearing!" Suddenly, it hit them. Nazza's right paw was a different shade of blue from the other three, and it was kind of easy to tell that his right paw was covered by a blue fuzzy glove. Snowflake cursed herself for not seeing that before. Spyro just watched his friend, reluctant to try hurting him. On the other hand, Ripto was gladly looking for the right time to fry Nazza into a blackened wolf crisp.

"I wouldn't do that, short-stuff! I have lizardmen, and I'm not afraid to use them!" Nazza whistled a shrill note in the direction of some rainforest shrubbery, and instantly Wart bounded out of the underbrush with the two lizardmen behind him. The two lizardmen standing behind Wart were bright green raptor-like lizards with large colorful frills behind their heads and camouflaged battle armor covering their bodies. They stood twice as tall as Snowflake, and their claws were about as long as one of Spyro's spiral horns. Their rancid breath was enough to make Snowflake's eyes water. Nazza gave them a parting smile and handed the jewel to Wart, who quickly placed it into a knapsack hanging around his bumpy neck. Wart looked towards the creatures and gave them a hand signal, which beckoned them closer towards their prey.

"If you even think about getting this jewel from us, these lizardmen will rip you limb from limb!" Wart called out rather pathetically. Nazza winced visibly at the lame comeback, but he continued to stand confidently near the mutated dragon as he watched his former companions' angry expressions. The two agents of Changeling stood behind the two lizardmen, eager to watch the towering monsters tear through them. 

Instantly, Spyro's mind began to work. "We're going after those creeps! We'll get rid of the lizardmen later, but we have to get the crystal back!" Spyro shouted to his friends. Snowflake gave him a nod and the two dragons rushed towards Wart and Nazza, their rage taking control over their movement. As they avoided the two lizardmen, Ripto covered their backs by distracting the slow reptiles. Before Wart and Nazza could realize what was happening, Snowflake and Spyro tackled them in a rush of scales and claws.

"Ack! Hey, you weren't supposed to do that!" Wart squeaked as he struggled to release himself from Snowflake's death lock. He heard an angry yelp beside him, and he could easily guess that Spyro was torturing Nazza in the same way. Snowflake had his back pressed to the muddy ground, crushing his fragile wings underneath his own weight. Snowflake gave the ugly little dragon a smug grin and pulled the Green Gigas Crystal out of his knapsack. With a parting sarcastic"Thank-You" from Snowflake, she ran to help Ripto with the lizardmen problem. 

When Snowflake joined the melee, Ripto had the lizardmen out-matched. Their green bodies were covered in burns and smoke was still billowing from their newest wounds. They panted heavily and both looked like they were about to collapse. As for Ripto, he only had a few minor scratches that could be easily healed later. Sensing no threat, Snowflake let her guard down momentarily, which led to her downfall... 

"Get the maiden! She has the crystal!" Wart shouted to the lizardmen hoarsely. The two monsters instantly listened to their master and bounded after Snowflake, their pain forgotten. Snowflake was taken completely by surprise, and the two lizardmen latched their sharp teeth onto her body. The dragon screamed in pain as one lizardman twisted her right wing until the bones snapped, while the other monster tried to tear her left leg out of its socket.

What happened next took everyone by surprise. Just when Snowflake thought that she was going to lose her right wing, the two lizardmen instantly burst into flames. Snowflake fell painfully to the ground, where she could see the lizards run around and try to put out the white flames that have consumed their scaly bodies. They gave a violent screech and then fell to the ground, where they shuddered and fell limp. Wart's mottled green and yellow skin turned into a sick shade of gray at the sight of his dead lizardmen and he ran away from the Mist Ruins screaming like a loon. Spyro then bounded out of the underbrush, his body covered in scratches and bite marks and his strength failing him. Snowflake tried hard to rise from the ground, but her left leg hurt like hell. She bit her lip and desperately raised into a sitting position.

"W-What happened?" Snowflake asked, her voice cracking from the pain coursing through her body. Spyro pointed in Ripto's direction, using his tail as the pointer. The short wizard looked exhausted and was using his scepter as a crutch, but Snowflake could see the Red Gigas Crystal glowing brightly through his fingers. It didn't take long to figure out what happened. 

"It was the freakiest thing I have ever seen. I was making a truce with Nazza when suddenly the whole sky flashed a bright orange. Nazza and I watched as Ripto summoned a large whirlwind of fire that consumed the lizardmen in a shower of flames. I could feel the heat of the spell, and its unbelievable that you were unharmed..." Spyro explained.

"What about Nazza? Did you teach that colorful canine whose boss?" Ripto asked. Spyro smiled. "We found out that we're pretty much equal in terms of physical combat. After about five minutes of hopeless wrestling, Nazza explained that he isn't really on Changeling's side. He just wants the Gigas Crystals to free the Psychotix from Changeling, sort of a hostage deal there. So, we settled a truce and that's when you-"  
  
Snowflake didn't hear the rest of Spyro's speech, for her two broken limbs proved to be too much for her body to handle. She soon fell into a state of unconsciousness, the Green Gigas Crystal still clutched in her hand... 

**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~**

"Whoa, that Ripto can kill two Tyrusian Lizardmen in one shot! Can you believe that?"

The two agents of Changeling were resting in the jungle, licking their wounds and thinking up of a good excuse for Changeling when they return empty-handed and Lizardmen-less. It was thirty minutes after they had run away from the Mist Ruins, their secret weapons dead and their exhaustion taking control. They found a nice spot near a churning river as they rested in the noon sun. They mindlessly chewed on their lunch, a pitiful raw fish meal. Wart was checking his wings for any broken bones, and Nazza was tying bandages around his paws where Spyro had lightly scorched them.

"I know, but I think that Changeling isn't going to miss two lizardmen, right?" Nazza concluded. He finished his fish in two bites, and Wart wondered how the wolf could eat so fast. The mutated dragon gave his wings another flap to make sure nothing was broken. He sighed and poked at his food. "You don't know how Changeling acts whenever you do something wrong, especially when you're her Lab Pet..."  
  
Nazza stopped twisting his bandage at the sound of Wart's words. "So that's why you look like something that a cow threw up!" Wart glared at him fiercely with his greenish-yellow eyes. Nazza quickly changed the subject. "Elaborate, we don't have to rush to Changeling so soon..." Nazza suggested. The dragon sighed again.

"You don't want to hear it. It's downright pitiful..." Wart murmured. Nazza grinned a toothy grin as he added the finishing touches to his bandaged right hand. "Try me." Nazza interjected. Wart looked touched, but the emotion didn't last long. He sat down in front of Nazza and began his sad tale.

"I wasn't born this way, as you might have guessed. I was born in a poor family, with both of my parents working in a Hurricos factory just to keep us alive. To make it even worse, I was a half-blood." Wart saw the confused look on Nazza's face, then described. 

"I was considered a half-blood because my mother was a dragon, and my father was a rhynoc. When I was born, I was a gray-scaled dragon with a rhynoc horn on the tip of my snout, blue webbed wings and claws, and the most beautiful brown eyes this side of the Summer Forest. However, rhynocs weren't really the most loved of all animals in Hurricos, and their crossbreed offspring was even more hated. Because of that, people would either ignore me or make fun of me when I was a child. Most of my childhood was spent either in a Dumpster looking for food and scraps or in the poorly run building they called a 'school'. That's how I lived my life until about four years ago when I crossed paths with Changeling..."

Nazza smiled nastily. "Changeling sure knows how to pick her Lab Pets. It sounds like your life was always miserable!" Wart looked up to him, his eyes glowing spitefully.

"That was a little uncalled for. I loved my old life, and I was foolish enough to believe Changeling when she said that a "Lab Pet" was a trusted scientist that surveyed all of the experiments. That was how it was for about a few months, before Changeling started to perform experiments on me, such as injecting me with untested chemicals and exposing me to toxic materials. She would reassure me and say that it wouldn't do anything to change me, but soon her words were not to be believed..."

Wart paused, and Nazza found a good time to cut in once again. "Let me guess, she kept saying that the experiments were harmless, even as your appearance started to turn for the worse. I've probably heard this story before." 

Wart sighed heavily as he began to pace back and forth. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but my memory's been warped from the constant abuse Changeling gave to me. I can't remember my age, my parents' names, or even my last name! All I have are little snips and pieces of my former self. Changeling ruined everything I lived for!"  
  
The air around them felt heavy with angry silence. Even the forest ceased its activity. There was a moment until Nazza spoke up. "If you're so miserable, why are you still by Changeling's side?"

"Like you, Changeling made a deal with me. In exchange for my service, she'll grant me the one thing I long more then anything; my old self..." Angry tears started to spill from his eyes. He hastily wiped them away. "I don't like having my strings pulled, but I have no choice. Changeling's the only one who could change me back into the handsome dragon I used to be. I know it, and Changeling knows it."

Despite all of this, Nazza still wore his smug grin. "I knew you felt that way, unless you really were the heartless dragon everybody takes you for. You're probably going to make some woman happy someday!" Nazza said jokingly. Wart's mood started to brighten, but he still didn't feel better. The blue wolf decided to change the subject. "Anyways, where are we heading to next in Avalar? What Gigas Crystal are we heading for next, now that the Green Gigas is in Spyro's hands?"

That did the trick, for Wart's mood instantly brightened as he explained. "The Blue Gigas Crystal is next, and you can probably guess where that lies. We're supposed to go find it in some ancient underwater civilization. However, unlike the Mist Ruins, the underwater civilization I'm talking about still exists!"

"Good, then it's settled. We rendezvous with Changeling and we snatch the Blue Gigas Crystal. I'm sure she will understand that we lost the gem for a short while." Nazza said. The two of them, now fully rested, began packing their things to meet up with Changeling. Wart's mind was already coming up with a good excuse to give to Changeling when she asked about the lizardmens' absence. '_If she doesn't buy it, I will have another DNA change. It's not like I can't handle another one of her experiments_.' Wart thought in his mind.  
  
"Besides, once Changeling finds out that Spyro and his reptile friends have the crystal, they probably won't live very long!" And with those last words, the two agents trudged into a whole different direction, expecting to see Changeling before nightfall. After all, the faster they got their job done; the sooner Changeling will cut their strings.

As least, that's what Nazza and Wart hoped for... 

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~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

Snowflake was floating in a dimension of pain, confusion, and unconsciousness that were bound to the chains of her mind. She tried as hard as she could to break the bonds of her pain and wake up from her coma, but she was just too tired. She could feel her wing throb from the broken bones. As she floated in the prison in the depths of her coma, two separate voices started to materialize outside of her prison cell. 

  
"...Give her some breathing room! Geez! Now hand me some of that water over there..."

  
"Hey, don't mess with her wing! Wait until she wakes up before you mess with it!"  
  
"Why do we have to wait until she wakes up before we can make it better? I know a lot more about wings then you ever could! We have to clean it, bandage it, and set the bones back in place for it to heal properly, not perform some kind of voodoo on her!" 

"Do you question my magic, you winged reptile?"

Snowflake slowly opened her eyes, and saw both Spyro and Ripto baring their teeth at the other. Spyro's nostrils were ablaze, and he was clicking his claws in annoyance. Ripto was in a fighting stance and Snowflake could see the Red Gigas Crystal start to glow faintly. Although the fight would've been amusing to watch, she knew she had to stop them before they caused any damage.

"Wait a minute, guys! I'm awake!" Snowflake shouted. She thought the impulse to rise onto her feet in remembrance of her injuries earlier. The two of them instantly turned to her, a mix of embarrassment and disappointment evident on their faces. Both of the eager reptiles rushed to her and tended to her need.

"You've been sleeping for about three hours now," Spyro stated in an as-matter-of-factly voice. He was answering all of her questions. "Your leg wasn't broken, and its probably healed enough to walk on..." he informed. Snowflake inspected the many herbs and medicine applied to her leg. The Gigas Crystal was still clutched in her right hand, still glowing slightly like an annoyed firefly.  
  
"What about my wing?" Snowflake asked. Spyro winced and told Snowflake to turn around and see for herself. She did as she was told, and she was scared out of her wits. Her left wing looked just fine, but her right wing was a twisted, broken parody of its former self. The ligament was broken and twisted into an unnatural shape, with a bone protruding from the skin. Spyro was smart enough to clean off the blood before Snowflake woke up, or she would've fainted from the even coat of rusty-smelling blood that had leaked from the many teeth wounds that the lizardmen inflicted on her.

Snowflake was at lost for words. The intense throbbing pain that focused on her right wing stole her voice. She bit her lip to keep from crying out; she did not want to show her friends any weakness that would've characterized her as a damsel. "Don't worry. If the purple pest will lend me a hand, I can heal your wing as good as new. Just turn your head and leave me to my work..." Ripto stated. Snowflake turned her head away from the crooked mess that was her right wing and waited.  
  
"_Cosmos Curiania!_" Instantly, the pain began to increase in her right wing. She screamed; it felt like fire was burning her nerves into cinder. She was about ready to go hysterical when suddenly the pain stopped. Instant relief flooded her, and she chanced a look behind her. Snowflake's right wing was as good as new, but it felt a little numb. Her mouth hung agape.

"Ripto...How did you-" Snowflake babbled, amazed at his handiwork. He smiled smugly, which was rather disgusting in Spyro's point of view. "I've been training in the magic arts since I was a child. Do you think that repairing a few bones would be difficult? I laugh at your kind's ignorance of magic!"

"Keep that attitude and you can try repairing your own thick skull!" Spyro sneered. Snowflake sighed in half-defeat, and half relief. She didn't want a fight, but at least they were acting normally. She took a chance to try standing on her feet after her injuries, which she found that Spyro had done a great healing job on her leg. (Although all of the smelly medicine made her gag.) When she was finally able to stand on her own two feet, Spyro encouraged her to pull out the GCT.

"Let's see, now that the Red and the Green are out of the way, the closest Gigas Crystal is..." Snowflake resized the map several times and imputed random data. "...In some kind of civilization at the bottom of the ocean!" Spyro and Ripto both appeared chest fallen. Spyro let out an audible groan, while Ripto started to complain.

"Great! First a rainforest, and now an ocean! Now we have to sprout fins and gills to get the next accursed jewel!" He shouted hysterically. Snowflake couldn't help but smile; Ripto looked more comical then intimidating when he was upset. Spyro didn't say anything, and it looked like he expected this reaction. "No worries, Ripto. I think we'll find a way to get there as soon as we hit the shores. All we have to do is get out of this stupid rainforest!"  
  
Everyone agreed; all the dangers they've experienced in this jungle all made them pretty sick of the rainforest. The only problem was that they had nobody with any idea to reach the coast from their current position, and wandering through the jungle without any direction was the last thing on their minds...

"Hey, Snowflake. What did Grunge say about that crystal?" Spyro asked rhetorically. Snowflake glared at him, not getting the gist of his question. "You were there! Grunge said that I'm the only one that can harness its power and hold it without any problems on my person. So what!" Spyro grinned, his canines gleaming in the afternoon sun.

"The Gigas Crystal's power is over the elements of nature, and we're surrounded in green stuff. Use the crystal to get us out of here!" Spyro demanded. Snowflake looked at him as if he were crazy. "One problem, Spiral-Horn; I have no idea to use this kind of magic! All I know of magic is what they taught me in the low-budget school at Willowbranch, and even my best friend got better grades at that..." She saw the looks in their faces. Spyro had a look on his face that said, "Go on, give the sucker a try!" On the other hand, Ripto was probably thinking of burning their way through the rainforest, for he was chuckling to himself.

"Fine! I'll try!" Snowflake exclaimed. She closed her eyes, just like she did on the Magic 1 exam a few years back, and reached inwardly to the power within the Gigas Crystal. She managed to establish a link to the Gigas Crystal with a little difficulty, but she didn't know how to work the magic of the Gigas Crystal. Exasperated, she focused more into the jewel and tried the first command that popped into her head.   
  
"Rainforests of Mist, heed my plea! Show us a safe route to the sea!" 

Suddenly, the Crystal grew hot underneath her fingers. Snowflake opened her eyes and saw that the jewel was giving off a vortex of blinding green light, which made her eyes water. Her two friends were now a safe distance away from the crystal, as if she was a bomb ready to explode. The light focused into a single point, and immediately a ray of green light with enough force to knock her down to the ground shot out of the jewel. The path of green light snaked through the forest past their vision. A cracking noise suddenly became apparent throughout the rainforest. Snowflake sat up with a shock, and saw that the trees that were in the path of the ray parted by uprooting themselves, revealing a safe road all the way to the coast. Snowflake gaped in amazement.

"Well, Ripto. It seems that we dragons know more about magic then you expected us to know." Spyro said casually to Ripto. Ripto said nothing, but he was instead staring at Snowflake's Gigas Crystal as if astonished of the power it had over nature, even though he already experienced the fury from the Red Crystal. Snowflake dusted herself off from the rough landing earlier and stepped towards the road between the trees. She stared into the distance of the large pathway to the coast.

"I guess Grunge was right when he said that the Green Crystal had the power to manipulate plants..." Warily, she stepped in-between two of the manipulated trees, half-expecting for them to return to their natural spots and crush her. When she saw that it was safe, she turned to her male companions with a smile on her face. "The faster we reach the coast, the faster we're out of this rainforest!"

That convinced them. The two reptiles hurried after Snowflake, both of them eager to finish this quest as fast as possible. In their excitement to be rid of the torment of the rainforest, it never occurred to them how easy a parted tree path revealed their position...

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

"Those fools! It's like they *want* us to win!"  
  
The sky was now reddish-purple from the sunset. Even though the spell had been cast many hours ago, Snowflake's command over the trees still remained strong. Changeling studied the handiwork of the Green Gigas Crystal from her aerial position above the forest. She smiled as the simplicity of her adversary's thinking, then signaled the nameless dragon crony to lower her down to the ground. The simple-thinking black dragon set her down onto solid earth softly, her feet barely making a sound against the soil. Everyone in her clan stared at her, waiting for her next order. Nazza and Wart were both filthy and tired, but they also awaited their masters' orders. Wart in particular watched her as if she was holding a knife to his main artery.

"You're right, Wart. The white dragon female does have the Green Gigas Crystal." Wart swallowed pathetically and nodded silently to his mistress. She glared at him, her dark purple eyes tearing into his will. "I didn't expect you to lose two of the best breed of lizardmen and the Crystal to a dragon and her two boyfriends, but luckily she wants to collect the Gigas Crystals too. This makes it all the easier for you, my Pet." Wart nodded once again. He knew he was going to receive his parting end of the bargain soon enough...

Changeling turned to a frilled lizardman standing beside her. "Send me the prisoner." The lizard gave a parting "Yessir!" And scurried off. Nazza and Wart looked to each other, unsure what she meant by 'prisoner'. Changeling read their minds with alarming accuracy.

"As you already know, the Blue Gigas Crystal is at the bottom of the sea. A very tricky spot to get to, especially for people with lungs. So, I've decided to get on the good side of a rather kind old sea dragon, but I need something to convince him. That's why I caught...HIM!" Changeling pointed to a struggling creature bound and gagged by the lizardman she sent earlier.

Nazza let out a loud growl and bared his teeth. Several other reptiles in Changeling army showed the same distaste, for the air was now filled with angry snarls and roars. A large bear was shouting random curses and threats to Changeling through the bandanna around his mouth. He was easily recognizable with his business suit, green eyes, tan fur, and the one monocle that hung from his eye. The lizardman that fetched him, obviously a pirate before Changeling enrolled him, was peering into a large white burlap bag with a green gem symbol on the side. Changeling casually ripped off the bandanna and let the bear speak his mind.

"You unkempt ill-mannered feline! Untie me this instant and give me my gems!" The bear yelled. Changeling looked behind the bear to see that the lizardman was now grabbing his fill from the burlap sack with hunger in his eyes. She smiled, her furry tail swishing behind her. "Now, now Moneybags. You did this to yourself! If you didn't try to sell me a poor misshapen mockery of a Gigas Crystal, then you would be safe at home counting your greedy gain. But, since you made that mistake, you're now at the mercy of the great Changeling!"

"Poppycock! You're no better then Ripto! If Spyro were here, he'd-"  
  
"If Spyro were here, he'd sit back and watch you get tortured by Changeling with a smile on his face! The only reason he would ever do you a deed is if you forced him to pay you a "small fee". To Spyro, you're more of a parasite!" Nazza spat out. Several reptiles near him voiced their agreement. Moneybags, defeated, slumped slightly like a deflated balloon. Some dragons were glaring at him, fire glowing in their eyes. 

"There's no need to feel sad. You're serving a wonderful purpose for this army!" Changeling explained. "You see, I've met this sea dragon off the coast of the Rainforest's coast. It turns out he's a fugitive from an ancient prison and goes by the name of Bane. I've had trouble convincing him to trust me, so I need someone to convince him that he is more then welcome to have a spot in my army." She waited a moment for Moneybags to respond.

"You want me to talk to this beast?" Moneybags asked. The whole campsite was filled with laughter, including the chuckles of Wart and Nazza.   
  
Wart, who also knew Moneybags from personal experiences, said bluntly, "A sea dragon may be an intelligent creature, but they still keep some older traditions. The way to a sea dragon's trust is through his stomach!" Once again, the camp was full of loud laughter. However, Nazza and some of the larger dragons didn't laugh, but rather felt cheated that they weren't the ones to finish Moneybags off. This round of laughter caused Moneybags to snap. He started yelling like a mad-man to the reptiles and their leader.

"Murderers! Thieves! You creatures aren't fit to walk this planet! Spyro will destroy you all!" Moneybags shouted. Changeling, obviously through with the demonstration, signaled two lizardmen to carry him away. With great difficulty, the lizards secured Moneybags, and dragged him out of sight, his cries still ringing through the night. "Spyro will destroy you all!" was the last thing they heard of the greedy bear. When all the traces of Moneybags have faded away, everyone in the small army resumed their duties, some of them talking eagerly about the sacrifice of Moneybags.

"I never thought I'd see the day Moneybags went crazy. Isn't that right, Wart?" Nazza reflected. Wart didn't speak. Instead, the final calls of "Spyro will destroy you all!" echoed through his head, as if they were the words of a prophet for days to come....

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End of Chapter 4

I'm sorry this took so long to write, but a combination of Writer's Block and school registration is to blame for the delay.  
  
I've been receiving a lot of fan mail lately, including applications for fancharacters in the story! So far, I've denied nobody's character into being a part of my story. After all, I'm planning this to be one hell of a story! ^_^

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	5. Suspicious Lodging

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The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 5: Suspicious Lodging

Rating: For now, it's PG. It may change if there is anymore cussing and/or violence.

Notes: Holy cow! O_O What was once a silly idea has become probably the most popular story on Fanfiction.net! I'm getting so much happy reviews that it gives me new intentions to write this story. (I was going to cut this story short due to lack of interest, but now thanks to all my reviewers, this story will continue running until its end.)

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The Green Gigas Crystal still shined like a beacon of the purest light even as the day turned into night. Snowflake trudged relentlessly in front of both Spyro and Ripto, her feet now quick with the anticipation of getting out of the rainforest. Spyro also kept the same pace, his strides effortless as he tore through the underbrush. Ripto still walked with an atmosphere of moodiness, but he was still keeping up a fast and steady pace so as not to fall behind. The trees forced apart by the Green Gigas' magic creaked back to their original spots when all three travelers past them, creating the aerial image of a natural zipper being closed.

"So, how long will it be before we hit the beach?" Spyro asked urgently as they jogged through the trees. Snowflake didn't need to turn around to answer his question. "At this pace, we can reach the shore early in the morning if we set up camp when it gets dark."

"Why do we have to set up camp? We have two Gigas Crystals to scare away any forest animals!" Ripto complained. Snowflake sighed. "If we continue walking through the night, we're probably going to end up passing out when we hit the beach! Even evil dictators need their sleep, Ripto!" There was a murmur of agreement from Spyro, and the case was final. When they ran out of energy, Snowflake stopped them and set up camp in the shelter of the bent Gigas-controlled trees.

Camp was the same as always. Spyro lit a fire with his flame breath for them to warm up against, and Snowflake gathered some food from a nearby stream. Her male companions sat in silence, their eyes glazed with many different thoughts circling through their heads. Spyro sighed dreamily as he thought of Elora, his longing to be in her warm embrace once more evident on his face. Even Ripto was at peace, sitting in a spot away from the two dragons as he fiddled with a silver lace-like thing. Snowflake sighed; she didn't bother to look into her friends' actions. She ate her fish as she examined her clothes, for her once-cute skirt was now a tattered mess of blue cloth from the misadventures in the blasted jungle. 

Even though she wasn't built like many mammalian girls, she still felt more comfortable if part of her body was covered, mainly because her friend Minerva knitted it for her right before she traveled to Avalar and got stuck in this Gigas Crystal scenario. Her shark-tooth necklace was still hanging across her neck, but she was afraid that she might lose it during this adventure and she had the trinket ever since she was a kid. Her thoughts swallowed her, and soon her fish dish was forgotten. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Ripto until he was almost shouting at her.

"What?" Snowflake asked, snapping out of her trance. Ripto shook his head sadly at her lack of attention. He then repeated himself. "I was watching you carry that Green Gigas Crystal in your palms all day, and I realized that if you can't carry it around properly, you might lose it. So, I made you something that will make carrying that stupid accursed jewel much easier. I designed it so it's a lot like my scepter, so I hope its effective..."

The short dinosaur handed her a rather beautifully crafted necklace that was made out of a fine silvery metal. Snowflake saw that the necklace was what he was messing around with while he was eating a rather dull meal of rainforest fish. In the middle of a necklace there was a large clasp designed to lock the Green Gigas Crystal into place. Snowflake placed it around her neck and then clicked the Crystal into it. It held the glittering crystal in nicely. To test it out, she shook it violently, and she gave a whistle of awe when she saw that the necklace did its job.

"Whoa, that makes my job a lot easier after carrying around that jewel." She smiled warmly. "Thanks, Ripto! You're such a good friend!" To Ripto's surprise, Snowflake wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug as a sign of her appreciation. Ripto, despite being short, was only a head shorter then Snowflake so his position wasn't at all awkward. The friendly embrace lasted only a few seconds, but Ripto was sure that Spyro was going to make a rather witty remark about it later. As soon as he left Snowflake's arms, he ran briskly back to his spot, thankful that he was born with red scales to mask any reddening cheeks. 

Sure enough, Spyro was chuckling rather darkly at his nemesis. Ripto glared at him and brandished his scepter threatening in his direction. "Do you want to start something, dragon?" Ripto hissed. Spyro shook his head as he leaned back against a large tree stump. Usually, Spyro was more then ready to exchange insults with Ripto, but it was late and Spyro wanted to get a decent amount of sleep. "It's nothing to get upset about, Ripto. It's just that it reminds me of when I first started a relationship with Elora, and how she would give me friendly hugs..."  
  
Ripto raised an eyebrow. "Relationship? You mean that Snowflake and me could be an item?" Spyro shrugged his purple shoulders indifferently. "It's a possibility. After all, wasn't Snowflake the one that has stuck by your side ever since she pulled you out of Winter Tundra? She defended you through thick and thin, even if it put her reputation at stake. If it weren't for her, Elora would've tossed your injured body back into the abyss Snowflake found you and let you die, happy to be rid of her worst enemy. Let's face it, Snowflake cares for you and I'm starting to think that you care for her back!"

Ripto grumbled as he settled himself into a comfortable position near the campfire, ready to go to sleep. "Bah! You speak nonsense dragon, as usual! Snowflake's a dragon, a species that I've hated for all my life, and there's no way I would ever fall head over heels for her. In fact, as soon as this quest is over, I'll forget all about the dragon maiden!" He retorted. He expected Spyro to make a witty comment back, but instead the purple dragon merely shrugged his shoulders and turned over on his side. He folded his leathery wings around him. This was something that dragons do by instinct when they go to sleep, like a dog walking around in circles before it settles into bed.

"Whatever you say, Shorty. Good night..." Spyro muttered. And soon Ripto heard the deep even breaths of slumber emit from the sleeping dragon. Ripto turned his head to check what Snowflake was doing, and wasn't surprised to see Snowflake in a deep slumber; her bat-like wings curled around her like a cocoon. He could still see the necklace he made for her wrapped around her scaly neck. Ripto mumbled to himself as he settled himself near the campfire.

"Bah, what does Spyro know? I would never show compassion to a dragon beast! I wouldn't even think about such a thing!" He wrapped his robe around himself like a blanket. As he fell into a deep sleep, however, their was still a little nagging voice lingering in his head telling him that he was only lying to himself...

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Changeling smiled at her cronies' wonderful work. The pieces were falling gently into place, and the Gigas Crystals would soon be all hers to own.

Moneybags struggled under his bounds as several bulky lizardmen tied him against a large wooden pole. His arms were pinned behind his back as the sacrifice was prepared. The large bear gave a terrified moan as he realized that there was no escaping his fate. Several onlookers, including the blue wolf Nazza, wore masks of grim satisfaction. 

The beach was a grim sight indeed. A large camp was set up many miles away from Snowflake's tree route. Several rows of makeshift tents lay sprawled across the ground, looking a lot like scattered leaves from an aerial perspective. In the middle of these scattered tents were a few wooden caravans, each of them filled with prisoners that Changeling has taken during her journey for the Gigas Crystals. Most of the army had gathered near the shore, eager for the appearance of Changeling's sea dragon. Moneybags, on the other hand, scanned the shoreline in a frightened manner of the appearance of his would-be murderer.

"Don't worry, Moneybags. The sea monster didn't forget. Creatures of the sea have a veeery long memory." Wart said mercilessly to Moneybags. Wart, along with several other mindless cronies, was standing guard around Moneybags just in case he struggled free from his bounds. Wart wasn't normally this bloodthirsty, but he carried a lifelong grudge against Moneybags, seeing as Moneybags would always tax his family into a deeper poverty. Wart bit his lip to keep from crying out as he remembered all of the savings lost by Moneybags and his family. A sharp pain tore into Wart's right arm, the price he had to pay for failing Changeling, and quickly he shredded his virulent ideas to writhe in pain.

Even in the dark of night, they saw the monster rise from the sea. It was a graceful movement of solid muscle. First a finned ridge rose from the waters, then some silver scales, and finally the whole body of the sea dragon emerged from the waves. Everyone gasped in amazement; the sea dragon was of an immense size. It was a large dinosaur-like creature with a finned ridge running down its body from its forehead to the back of its tail. Bane had a long neck, suitable for sea monsters, which carried an intelligent serpentine head. Silver fish-like scales ran down its body, giving the monster the illusion that it was wearing a full suit of armor. Sharp teeth protruded from the monster's bottom and top lip, giving it a dangerous air to it. The sea dragon walked onto the beach and stopped just a few inches away from Moneybags. He grinned a toothy grin to the camp that was set up before him.

"Bane, you've finally arrived!" Changeling exclaimed as the demon emerged completely from the waves. She bowed until her pointed ears touched the ground, a sign of respect when addressing sea monsters. Bane did the same, a gesture that meant he saw her as a respectful individual. Several creatures awed at the sheer beauty of the sea dragon. Moneybags whimpered in sadness as he thought of the sea dragon tearing him apart with large claws.

"Thank you, Changeling. I see that you took the time to prepare a sacrifice in my name. Now, without spending more of your time, I shall take my offering!" Bane inched closer to Moneybags until his jaw was right above him. His mouth opened wide, a grinning chasm of rows of sharp teeth. Moneybags winced and prepared himself for the end.

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Crunch!

Bane swallowed a nearby lizardman in one sweep of his giant jaw. Little droplets of blood fell from the creature's mouth. Moneybags sighed in relief, just happy to be alive. Wart, who was just inches from the spot the devoured lizardman was standing, fainted from the shock. Before Changeling could ask the question on her mind, Bane answered.

"Although you did went through the trouble of preparing my offering, I would rather munch on a healthier animal. This creature looks like he's consisted of mostly fat! Yuck." Bane explained. Moneybags looked a little insulted as several horde members burst out laughing at the sea dragon's comment, but his heart was gladdened with the mere fact that he was being kept alive. Changeling looked to Moneybags; her venomous purple eyes alight with anger, and motioned to a nearby lizardman.

"Put him with the rest of the captives. I have no use for him until we get to my fortress." She ordered a nearby lizardman. The burly scaled creature muttered something impossible to catch before it untied Moneybags from his stake and dragged him towards the large wooden caravans that carried Changeling's captives. Bane was polite; he waited until the sound died down amongst the lizard-like horde before he resumed his talk with Changeling.

"Although I usually don't meddle with the leaders of large armies, you were kind enough to offer me both a reward and a little snack. Tell me what you wish from me." Bane said. He now assumed a position like a resting cat, with his serpentine head resting on dangerous webbed claws. Nazza gave out a low whistle to himself as he considered how effective the sea-dragon's urbane manner was effecting everyone. Wart, who was revived just a short while ago by someone swiftly kicking him in the stomach, watched the honorable sea creature in awe.

Changeling was not effected by Bane's urbane talk. "Cut the small talk, Bane. I've heard that you would give anyone any information about the seas of Avalar if you paid them a small fee. Well, I've paid my fee. I expect answers..." She started sub-consciously fingering the small purple purse tied around her belt that contained the two Gigas crystals she collected. "I want to possess the Blue Gigas Crystal. Tell me how to reach it, and I can make you the richest sea creature in Avalar!"

Bane thought about this offer for a moment. He lifted his head in a thinking manner, his left claw drumming the sand as he pondered about it. Silence fell as everyone waited for the sea monster's answer. Finally he gave his decision. "The Blue Gigas Crystal is none of your business. I will not tell you anything about it!"

Changeling was shaken by this answer. "What? I've summoned you with the prospect of rewards, and you're not giving me the answers I want? I thought you said that you would offer your wisdom to anyone who sought after it, you lying lizard?" Bane smiled rather wolfishly at the cat-like sorceress yelling at him.   
  
"That's what I said, but all you want is power for yourself and no one else. I will tell you this much though, since you did ask for my knowledge on the subject." Bane stopped to clear his throat and continued on. "A powerful Guardian created by its powerful magic protects the Blue Gigas Crystal, like its other accursed cousins. The Blue Guardian is a tentacled menace called Kraken, and only someone with the courage of a true hero can pluck the Blue Gigas Crystal from Kraken's clutches." Changeling frowned. She paced back and forth in front of Bane, her mind trying to piece together her current options.

"So, you're saying that if I was brave, I can get the Crystal?" Changeling asked, eager to get more information. Bane shook his massive head, his green eyes surveying the purple-furred sorceress. "No, I said that only someone with the courage of a true hero could get the Gigas Crystal. You are filled with greed and malice, something that would never measure up to the Kraken. Judging by your rashness, you'd be ripped apart before you could get within four yards of the powerful Gigas Crystal. And with that,"  
  
Bane rose to his full height. "I'm off!" And with those final words, Bane wisely dashed back into the ocean's protective cover right before Changeling could utter a command to stop him. If Bane had waited a moment longer, Changeling would've cut him down with the power of her stolen Gigas Crystals. Many of the horde members gazed into the sea with awe, and Changeling yelled curses at Bane's back that involved very colorful four-letter words.

"Look on the bright side, Mistress." Wart tentatively said to Changeling, hoping to make her feel better. "At least we know what it will take to get the Blue Gigas Crystal." Changeling shot a venomous glare at the dragon lackey and knocked him down to the sand with a single blow of her fist. Since she was in a bad mood, she had to find something to beat up to get rid of her fury. Wart seemed the likely subject for said beating. Grinning evilly, Changeling stepped on Wart's stomach and pressed all her weight on the snively dragon.  
  
"I don't need your sympathy, you worthless little toad with wings! If I need sympathy from you, I'll ask for it. Understand?" Wart nodded, sweat beading on his forehead. Changeling got her foot off of his stomach, and signaled him to stand up. 

"Good. Stand there!" Changeling ordered, and Wart immediately knew what was going to happen. Horde members familiar with this practice formed a tight torch-lit circle around both sorceress and lackey, for their lust for spilled blood still wasn't satisfied from Bane's offering. Changeling waited until the lizard-like cronies ceased any extra noise, and then ordered Nazza to hand over her special club. Wart bit his lip and braced himself for his punishment.

Changeling, although she was a spell caster and a bookworm, was also very strong in physical aspects. Sometimes, when injecting powerful toxins and mutagens into her lackey didn't satisfy her cruel nature, she would beat Wart up with a limber wooden club until he literally screamed for mercy. This punishment was great entertainment for the horde members, and sometimes they would swing their fists at Wart after the punishment was over, causing even more bruises to be inflicted upon him. This was the price to pay for his memory and his restored self, both promised by Changeling if he helped her during the Gigas Crystals quest.

Changeling swing her club at Wart's exposed right side, sending the hapless lackey sprawled against the sand. Torches scattered an eerie light across the scene as Changeling jumped for Wart like a madman and struck out at him with her wooden club. Each resounding thwack caused the witnesses to wince, including the more faint at heart. Nazza the blue wolf, who wasn't yet put away in the slave caravans, could only shake his head in shame as he watched his former partner get the snot beat out of him. The cruel punishment lasted until no more screams emitted from Wart. Changeling stopped, her anger now spent on her mistreated lackey. She bent down close to the dragon and inspected him. Wart was unconscious and his breathing was stagger. Blood flowed freely from his mouth and from his open bruises that she had inflicted on him. 

Satisfied, Changeling walked back to her lavish tent, leaving the poor dragon to sleep where he laid in the sand. She needed some time to think.

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It was now morning in the Rainforest of Mist, and the mismatched group of heroes has once again walked amid the bent trees towards the sea. Snowflake was humming some random tune to herself while Spyro and Ripto argued about something that Snowflake didn't bother to care. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that every single one of them was sick and tired of the rainforest after being stuck in it for so long. Snowflake was humming her favorite songs to keep herself from dying of boredom, while Spyro and Ripto were arguing about whether Elora was a goat or a faun. This was why all of them burst into a dead run when Snowflake shouted, "Look! I see the coast!"

As soon as they burst out of the rainforest, the three reptilians kept their fast running pace as they ran through the tall grass of the rainforest's outskirts. After running for a good thirty minutes, they landed in an exhausted heap in the soft sands of the peaceful coast, their moods sunny despite the fact that the sky was covered in clouds. Snowflake grinned when she saw the magnificent waves crash on the beach; perfect for surfing. She suddenly felt angry that she didn't bring a surfboard for such wonderful surfing waves, forgetting the fact that carrying a surfboard around in the rainforest would've drove her nuts. The water seemed so tempting for the tired dragon and suddenly a childish idea formed in her head.

"Last one in the water is a Gnorc!" Snowflake yelled immaturely as she dashed across the sand. Spyro took the challenge and forgot about the task at hand for the moment. "Not if I get there first!" Spyro called out. He playfully chased after Snowflake and the two friends giggled like schoolchildren until they hit the water. Ripto watched from his spot in the sand as Spyro and Snowflake splashed in the salt water; the drama that the Gigas Crystals handed to them seemed nothing more then a memory now. Snowflake called out to Ripto as she bobbed in the sea's caressing tide.

"Come on, Ripto! The water's great!" Snowflake shouted to him over the crashing of the waves. Spyro glared at her and said something venomously that was thankfully lost among the crashing of the waves. The dragons waited for his response, and when he didn't give him an answer, they went back to frolicking in the cold salt water. 

Ripto just sat back and watched as the two dragons played in the salt water, something that he had been doing ever since he was a child. He was never a popular person even in childhood, so often he just sat off in the distance and watched as other kids played their games. They never included him in any of their merriment because he just so antisocial. Besides, the kids never liked him anyway. Ripto remembered their cruel jokes about him, which had persisted throughout his life. People just couldn't let him forget the fact that he was a little on the shrimpy side. Thanks to all of these gibes throughout his life, Ripto became a bitter creature that wanted nothing more then world domination.

As he thought to himself, he noticed a structure in the distance. Startled, Ripto quickly called for his friend's attention. Both dragons ran out of the water as fast as possible. Their jaws dropped when they saw what was lying on the coast not far from their current position.

"Whoa, how come we never noticed that before?" Spyro choked out as they stared at the lavish mansion in the distance. Not far from where they were standing, the mansion sat on a cliff that hung slightly over the crashing waves. It didn't look rundown at all, but rather it had a cheery coat of light brown paint. A white ornamental fence, not a desolate black one, surrounded the house with its intricate designs. Despite all these positive qualities, the house still had a sense of mystery, what with it stranded in the middle of an otherwise abandoned coastline. Still, Snowflake looked to her friends, her smile still on her face. "Well, it looks like we found ourselves some lodging!"  
  
Spyro gave her a weird look. "You're joking, right? Haven't you ever read any stories about mansions in the middle of nowhere? If we go into that mansion, chances are that we won't be coming out!" Snowflake shook her head, the Gigas Crystal bobbing with each movement of her head. Ripto, always the one to argue, butted into the conversation. "Don't be a stick in the mud, Dragon. We've been in a rainforest for five days, talked with a plant monster, fought against lizardmen, and we're running out of rations! Do you think we can't handle whatever's living in that mansion, Mr. Hot Shot?"

That encouraged Spyro. He took one look at the mansion perched on its peaceful cliff, breathed a hopeless sigh, and started leading the way. The three friends followed Spyro until they reached the mansion's front steps. The large house was still nonthreatening even from up-close, but still neither of the three wanted to be the one to knock. Finally, after many arguing and choice words, Ripto walked up some even-painted steps and up to the door. The door was fashioned in a lavish way, much like the house, for it had many delicate carvings and its knocker was shaped like a webbed claw holding a ring. Ripto considered these decorations lightly as he gripped the handle and pushed the door open.

"It's unlocked!" Ripto announced to his friends. The other two followed him inside, and gazed at the interior of the mysterious mansion. The house was lit by one fancy hanging chandier that sent glittering rays of light across the room. Two twin staircases that started from the opposite sides of the houses only to curve and meet in the middle as one staircase facing the door. But that wasn't the most surprising feature in the house. The large living room was filled with bookshelves as high as the ceiling. On each bookshelf were literally thousands upon thousands of books, with hundreds of topics present. The three heroes let their eyes roam up and down the shelves.

"I knew something weird was about this house." Spyro broke the silence in an irritated tone. He started to pace in front of the rows of bookshelves, his eyes searching. "These books remind me of someone, but I can't put my claw on it..." Then, there was the sound of someone coming down the wooden stairs. Spyro ceased his searching and turned his head to the source of the sound.

"Hello! We don't get many visitors around here!" The occupant of the mansion cheerfully called out as she traveled down the stairs. The voice belonged to a female rhynoc clothed in a simple green dress. A green witch's hat that matched her dress was perched on her head. She carried a glowing silver wand that looked both simple and elegant at the same time casually in her right hand. Spyro immediately assumed a defensive stance as soon as he spotted the rhynoc, smoke billowing out of his nose. Snowflake got in front of him to make sure he didn't reduce the rhynoc into a pile of ash. When the rhynoc was at the foot of the stairs, Snowflake noticed that they were roughly the same height.

"It's such a nice surprise to get visitors here and judging by your clothes, this mansion's a nice surprise too." The rhynoc said, her voice filled with witty sincerity. She walked towards the group, a smile on her face. "What are your names weary travelers?" Snowflake, immediately won over by the rhynoc's good manner, shook her hand in a polite manner as she spoke their names. "I'm Snowflake Passiflora Laterose, and these two are my friends Ripto the Sorcerer and Spyro the Dragon."

The occupant of the mansion gasped in surprise. "Wow! _The _Spyro the Dragon and Ripto the Sorcerer are both standing right in front of me? What luck!" The rhynoc circled Spyro, a look of bewilderment on her face. Spyro watched her warily as she studied him and noted all of his features. "Hmmm...When I heard about you from my brother, I figured you'd be a little taller and a little scarier..." Ripto gave her a confused look as she examined the Gigas Crystal hanging around Snowflake's neck. "Wait, you don't live here by yourself?"

The rhynoc shook her head, her brown eyes sparkling. "No. My brother and I both live in this mansion, earning our gems by selling books and specially forged magic wands. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. You wouldn't care about my occupation if you don't even know my name! My name's Eledor, and welcome to our mansion." Snowflake couldn't help but smile at Eledor's introduction. _'I think I'm starting to like this rhynoc,'_ Snowflake thought to herself.

"Eledor, huh? Why does that name ring a bell?" Spyro asked. Eledor smiled in a sarcastic way at the dragon. "Maybe it's because my name is similar to my brother's name. You might know my brother Grendor, Spyro." Spyro's face lit up as he instantly remembered why this place looked suspicious.

"Grendor! You mean that two-headed monster is still alive?" Spyro blurted inconsiderately. Suddenly, he was sent flying across the room by a well-aimed punch to the face. Ripto wouldn't stop laughing as the female rhynoc grabbed Spyro by the throat and started shaking him wildly. Her voice was filled with venom as she spoke to him. "Don't you ever call my brother a monster again in my household, or I'll turn you into a toad. Understand, dragon?"  
  
Spyro, who now had a black eye, nodded silently at the fierce little rhynoc. Eledor then dropped him to the ground and turned to Ripto and Snowflake. "Let me show you to your rooms, my guests!" Eledor said cheerfully as if she never did a single act of violence in her life. As she led the guests to the stairs, Spyro couldn't help but think that sleeping outside under the stars was a better idea then staying inside the same mansion as Grendor and his crazy sister...

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Wart stomped through the camp under the rays of the afternoon sun with a tray full of a still steaming lunch that Wart was able to receive half-heartedly from the snake-like cook. The snake was hesitant to give the mutated dragon any food, but after Wart threatened to tell Changeling, the cook handed him the remains of the stew of the day. He winced every time he set his right foot down the sand, for it sent waves of pain across his body with every step. He could hear many of the horde members laughing at him, and he knew it was because he wasn't a beautiful sight to behold at all. 

The dragon wasn't very pretty even in good health but now that he was covered in gashes and bruises, he was very pathetic looking indeed. His mottled green skin, which was covered in ugly mutated bumps that gave Wart his name, had many different shades of blue and purple on top of it. One of his yellow eyes was swollen shut and he had a piece of fish meat tied to it. He wouldn't dare switch his position from biped to quadruped to lighten the weight on his right foot for his left arm hung bruised and almost unusuable at his side. Tears slid from his open eye as pain stung in every part of his body.

__

'That's it. I can't take this constant abuse anymore. I don't care if she does return me to my old self; I'm not going to go through another one of her punishments!' Wart decided in his head. As if by chance, when he limped past Changeling's lavish tent he could hear her voice discussing something. 

Changeling's tent was different from the other tents set up on the beach because she draped many different furs across the front so it created both a door and a status symbol. Smiling by this turn of events, he pushed some of the furs aside with his head until the inside of Changeling's tent came into view. Changeling had a few knick-knacks she had stolen from people she conquered over, including chests filled with beautiful gems. A table was set in the middle, covered with maps of every nation in Avalar. Changeling was standing at the head of the table as she discussed her plans with her two trusted commanders of the lizardman army that she called the Crimson Scales.

The Crimson Scales were both dragons, one of them female and the other male. The male was a big black dragon that stood on his hind legs like Wart, only he was a lot stronger. Fiery tattoos covered the space between his ankles and his knees and the space between his wrists and his elbows. The dragon's back faced towards Wart, his large bat-like wings blocking the rest of his body from view. The other Crimson Scale was a pink dragon that looked a lot like Spyro if it wasn't for the fact that she was also standing on her hind legs. Her tail swished behind her, her tail ring gleaming under the afternoon sun. Her big wings were folded behind her, but they didn't hide the two rings that circled her delicate horns. 

From what Wart had picked up during his trips across the camp, the pink dragon's name was Crystal and her big friend was named Dark. Dark never spoke to Wart, but Crystal would talk about how mad she was that Changeling had caught her and her friend while they were going to meet Spyro, and that they had strived to become the Crimson Scales so that they appeared loyal in Changeling's eye. Wart knew that their loyalty to Spyro might just come in handy someday, if not for him but for someone else. He pushed his thoughts out of head as he caught snippets of Changeling's discussion.

"...Bane was a mistake. I knew we couldn't trust those slimy sea dragons." Changeling discussed to Dark and Crystal. The two Crimson Scales showed their agreement with Changeling's discussion by nodding their scaly heads. Changeling, knowing that they were listening, unfurled a map of some city that Wart was unfamiliar with. She pointed to the map with a polished claw. "Since they aren't our allies, they are our enemies. They're the only people who know how to get to the Blue Gigas Crystal and they use that information to taunt us. We already captured one of their kind, but they still ignore us as if we're nothing more then fleas on some animal's back. It seems the only way to get what we want is to launch an attack on their city."  
  
Crystal gazed at the map, her lavender eyes roaming across the piece of paper. "How are we going to do that? We don't have gills or scuba gear, you know..." Crystal stated, her voice beautiful and almost harp-like. Changeling then picked up another rolled-up scroll and opened it over the map of the sea dragon's city. Wart suppressed a gasp; it was the blueprint of an underwater war machine! Dark and Crystal both studied the design of the shark-shaped war machine casually as if they were reading something trivial. 

Changeling smiled, very proud of her handiwork. "I've made enough of these babies to level their city to the ground. I'll storm in on their beautiful city tomorrow night and make them tell me where the Blue Gigas Crystal is. It goes to show them who the real boss is. Now, on to other matters. Cobra was discussing that we-"  
  
Wart heard no more of their conversation. He was too busy dashing off towards the slave caravans, his pains and hunger forgotten. He moved in an inhuman speed, his wings giving him more lift. _'I don't care if she tears off my arms if she hears what I'm doing, I wouldn't forgive myself if she leveled the sea dragon's city to the ground!'_ Wart thought to himself. As he reached the caravans, a plan was forming in his mind. A plan to stop, or at least delay, Changeling's plan of destruction....

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End of Chapter 5.

Ending notes: I've been getting tons of fancharacter entries in both the reviews and my inbox. I have not declined in using any of these fancharacters, but I will have to say that no one can enter anymore fancharacters into my story until between End of the Blue Gigas Crystal Saga and the Beginning of the Purple Gigas Crystal Sagas. 

(For those confused, I personally divide my story into Sagas, depending on the Gigas Crystal being focused on. Consider this chapter the ending of the Green Gigas Saga and the Beginning of the Blue Gigas Saga. Whee. :p)

Some notes: Eledor is like Nazza. She doesn't belong to me but rather to another fancharacter creator that just let me borrow them for the moment. Same thing goes for the two Crimson Scales. Believe me, all three of them will have bigger roles then the ones they've received in this chapter. I'm very generous with my received characters. Of course, **I'm not accepting anymore fancharacters until the Blue Gigas Crystal is in either Snowflake's or Changeling's hands!** (Who ends up with it, I can't tell you.)

Chapter six won't take as long to type, because now I have two more hours of free time in my schedule now that marching season is over. I hope people aren't mad of me for all the countless delays.


	6. Journey Into the Depths

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The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 6: Journey into the Depths

Rating: PG for now.

Notes: The writer's blocks have got me again. Ack! Well, seeing as I have nothing better to do, here's some response to the reviews of Chapter 5. (Which is a lot. Whoa!)  
**Nazza**: Thanks, buddy. Hearing that you read my stories with intensive care means a lot to me. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic. :p)

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ChibiHeartDragon: Heh, I sure hope you don't end up imploding like you did when I didn't update Stormwing, my spastic sister. ^^

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Dawnspirit: Like Bane would ever help someone like Changeling, after how Morphina had treated him. He fights for truth, justice, and the sea dragon way now. :)

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Silvermoon: I'll make sure to find a spot for Scott somewhere after the Blue Gigas Crystal is stolen from Kraken.

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Moonlight Mistress/Twinkles: Thank you. Responses like this really help me write this story. 

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Redwalgrl:You're right there. Poor Spyro never saw it coming. As for the whole relationship between Snowflake and Ripto, only time will tell. 

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Silver Wing: Thank you. ^^

  
**Bob**: I like seeing reviews like this. 

  
**DarkHououmon:** That original idea is the reason why I wrote this story in the first place. Heroes and villains working together often have interesting results indeed. *nods*

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C.K.Dragon: Thanks for the character submission! Oh, and the Ripto/Snowflake romance doesn't really sound as strange as the pairings the Spyro games created, like a dragon and a faun (Elora/Spyro) and a cheetah and a bunny (Hunter/Bianca). It's interesting to think of such crossbreeds that would result from those pairings. :p It seems that in the dragon and Avalar realms, species don't really matter when it comes to love. :)

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DbKiT: Wart will survive the next few chapters. I have something special in store for him in the later chapters. Thanks for reading. ^^

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The mansion was indeed impressive, and Snowflake wondered how they didn't get lost. Eledor the rhynoc was very pleasant as she showed them the important places of the mansion, including the dining room, the library, the bathroom, and their bedrooms. With each room, the group let out a collective gasp as they saw the splendor of the mansion first-hand. Even Spyro, who was reluctant in exploring a rhynoc's home, gazed at the lavish marble that crafted the bathing room.  
  
"and this is your bedroom. Each of you gets your own beds, but make sure not to tear those sheets. It's a pain to sew them back up." Eledor cautioned as the three of them collapsed into an exhausted heap on their corresponding beds. When the rhynoc saw how tired her three guests were, she smiled to herself and left them to their own devices. Snowflake squealed with joy when she felt how soft the bed was, and she now knew how much she missed good living after spending about a week in the rainforest. Spyro looked at his bed, which was an impressive double-decker bed, and cracked a smile.

"These rhynocs sure know how to live. I wonder where they got all the spare gems? I bet quite a few families are missing their life savings right about now..." Spyro inquired as he started to lie down on the comfy mattress. Ripto glared at Spyro. "Geez, just because they're rhynocs doesn't mean they stole their way into making this mansion. If anyone, it's Moneybags that stole his way to the making of his fancy mansion that's smack dab in the middle of Avalar. These rhynocs are really nice to prepare something like this..."

Snowflake just let herself relax on the bed, letting her friends' conversation slowly drift away. She couldn't help but grab the Green Gigas Crystal around her neck; the feeling of its comforting power pulsing against her fingers helped her think. _Obtaining the Blue Gigas Crystal is going to be harder then just walking into some jungle, _Snowflake thought. The bottom of the ocean had water, which was something the three of them just couldn't take in as oxygen. She looked towards Spyro and Ripto, who were now in a heated argument of whether or not Gnasty Gnorc was still alive. Spyro was an excellent adventurer, but he wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of the sea bottom. Ripto, while he was a magic-caster, probably didn't have the knowledge to adapt them to the waters...  
  
_But Eledor might. _Snowflake suddenly got an idea. Eledor herself said that she was an expert in magic, and sand and surf surrounded her mansion. If she could find a way to convince Grunge that she was of mage blood, then she can figure out how to get into the ocean without filling her lungs full of water. She rose from the bed and walked out of the guestroom. She ran down the hallways, followed by nothing but the sound of her claws clicking against the marble. Her eyes searched for the energetic rhynoc girl. Since Snowflake wasn't looking where she was going, she felt herself crash into a person and knocked both her and the person down to the floor.  
  
"Ack! I'm so sorry! Really sorry! I'll never do it-" Snowflake stopped her mindless babble when she saw how she had run into. A male rhynoc dressed in blue wizard robes similar to Eledor's got up from the marble floor and looked towards Snowflake in concern. He was not as tall or heavily built as the rhynocs Spyro would fight against during his travels, but he looked ten times smarter and ten times more intimidating then any rhynoc in the Sorceress' army. A brilliant golden wand, which was much more detailed then Eledor's, was still clutched in his right hand. Snowflake could catch the family resemblance dead-on. She was staring at the one and only Grendor, the only Spyro villain that gave up his evil ways after Spyro beat him once.  
  
"I see you're one of my sister's guests. For someone who had traveled through a large stretch of rainforest, you sure seem energetic." Grendor replied as he got off from the floor. He offered a hand to Snowflake, who was paralyzed on the ground. She took his hand and she let herself be pulled to her feet. "Luckily for me, you're not that fiery little dragon that always flames first and asks later." Snowflake smiled.   
  
"Oh, he's no trouble. He has a lot of spunk and a real spirit for adventure. Avalar couldn't ask for a better hero." Snowflake said. To make sure she didn't miss her chance, Snowflake asked the question that she had originally reserved for Eledor. "Anyways, I was going to ask your sister Eledor if she knew anything about how to get to the Blue Gigas Crystal."

"How do you know about the Gigas Crystals?" Grendor asked. Snowflake then launched into a detailed story, starting from how she found a dying Ripto in the snow and ending when she entered Grendor's mansion. She made sure to tell him about the Gigas Crystals in exact detail along with the Professor's GCT, which helped locate the gems. What she didn't tell him was that the Green Gigas Crystal was hanging around her neck and the Red Crystal was imbedded in Ripto's scepter. After all, she could never be too sure that Grendor and Eledor could be _completely _trusted.

"Well, you and your friends have come to the right place." Grendor replied. He slowly led Snowflake back to her room, explaining as he did so. "You see, my sister and I have obtained copies of pretty much every surviving text in the history of Avalar and some of the Realms parallel to Avalar. To have such great knowledge makes our minds open to the world, and we have heard of these Gigas Crystals and the twisted Changeling that hunts them down. Not only that, but having such contact to the ocean gave us a few friends along the way."

"You mean you do have a way?" Snowflake asked excitingly. "Yeah. In fact, we know of a sea dragon that will most likely take you to where you need to go. He's a rather suave fellow that goes by the name of Bane. He doesn't live here, but takes breaks in these waters every once in a while away from his exciting world of fairies and zombie-tamers. He will most likely help you; he's always willing to help solve people's problems if they're willing to ask him."  


Snowflake liked the idea. She had sea dragons back at home, but they were so few and far in between. The one that she did see was a wizened old creature with greying scales, yet he still had the fiery spirit that he had during his youth. She smiled when she remembered him; his name was Ateryu, and he was her Magic teacher. Snowflake was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't smell the smoke until she heard Grendor shout.  
  
Ripto and Spyro had obviously started a very heated argument when Snowflake was running through the house. Both of them were covered in burns and ash, but neither of them showed any fatigue. Several pieces of furniture, including some drawers and Ripto's bed, had been set aflame. Little patches of fire scattered around the room gave the area an eerie look to it. Smoke trailed out of Spyro's nose and mouth and the crystal on Ripto's scepter was still glowing dully. When they heard Grendor shout, both of them turned their heads to the source of the noise, saw the angered rhynoc. Both of them pointed a claw at each other.  
  
"HE STARTED IT!" Ripto and Spyro blurted at the same time. Grendor didn't know what to say, but just stared blankly at all the damage. Snowflake burst out laughing at the scene, even though she knew that the damage would be very expensive to fix. Spyro glared murderously at Ripto, his sharp teeth bared angrily.  
  
"It was your fault! You're the one that said my people were brainless fire-belching worms!" Ripto glared back. "My fault? Who's the one who struts into my territory like he owns the world and slaughters all my troops without a care in the world?" "Avalar never belonged to you!" "Shut up, you little firefly!" "Tyrant!" "Demon!" "Shorty!"

That infamous insult that Ripto had heard throughout his life suddenly made him go into a fiery rage. The Red Gigas Crystal, fed by his anger, shone brightly on his scepter as he shouted wordlessly and flung himself onto Spyro. The two reptiles wrestled each other until both of them collapsed into an exhausted heap. Grendor stomped out of the room, muttering about insurance and dragons. Snowflake cracked a smile. Finally, after a week in the jungle, everything was right in the world.

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Laigon was the only sea dragon that was loyal to Changeling. He was a very tall and sinuous creature with creamy yellow scales and a hard brown ridge running from the tip of his beakish snout to the end of his finned tail. Brown stripes ran from his bony ridge to his stomach, giving him a feral appearance. Laigon stood on two powerful legs, which were finned like his tail for the ease of swimming. The only article of clothing Laigon wore was a pair of ripped brown shorts and a belt that held his twin scimitars coated with poison. It was no wonder that Changeling gave him the job of guarding the slave caravans under the title of "Slave Master".

Wart stood uneasily out of Laigon's sight, his newly thought-up plan still jumbled in his mind. In order to help the sea dragon city from Changeling's planned attack; he was going to have to sneak an aquatic slave from the caravans without arousing any suspicion from Laigon. Wart winced when he remembered the cruel curved blades that hung casually across Laigon's chest; he didn't want to meet the business end of those poisoned scimitars. Summoning up as much courage and authority as possible, Wart stepped towards Laigon.   
  
The sea dragon pointed a scimitar at Wart's throat, a sneer curling up on Laigon's beak. "What do you want, Wart?" The two dragons were about the same height, give or take an inch, yet Laigon seemed much taller with all that raw hatred he had against Wart. Wart swallowed nervously and tried to sound like the more powerful officer, even though he just looked silly with all those bruises and gashes all over his body. "I have received notification from Changeling herself to release a sea animal into my care for the time being. If you don't move your sorry hide out of my way, Changeling will show you how powerful the Gigas Crystals really are!"  
  
Laigon took an involuntary step backwards; nothing scared him more then being reduced to ash under the Gigas Crystals' power. He growled in annoyance, and filled his voice full of false sincerity. "You may enter the caravans, Second-in-Commander. I'm sorry to have ever opposed you..." Wart ignored him and stepped into one of the wooden wagons that contained all the captives Changeling had captured over her trip across Avalar. 

"Vile slime! You let me out this instant!" Moneybags yelled at Wart. The bear, like all the other creatures in the caravan, was weighed down by heavy chains and therefore couldn't move very much. Immediately, he was shut up by a swift kick from Sheila the Kangaroo, who was sitting just behind him with a chain around her furry neck. "Can't you see that this one is on our side? It's Wart!" Wart smiled at this compliment; at least the captives liked him. He twirled a pair of keys in his hands as he looked among the ranks of captives.

"Are there any sea dragons in here? I need one in order to keep Changeling from leveling their city to the ground." Wart said, his voice reduced to a mere whisper when he mentioned that he was stopping Changeling from doing something. If Laigon heard Wart now, Changeling would arrange a Gigas Crystals appointment for him before he could save the sea dragons in time. The caravan remained silent until he heard a faint feminine voice reply "here." Wart squeezed around several captives until he found the sea dragon that spoke up. Wart had to stretch his neck to see into the sea dragon's seaweed green eyes, for she was about two heads taller then him.

"My name's Maryne and I don't want my civilization to be leveled to the ground!" She said, her sea green scales shifting nervously under the heavy chains. Wart studied her, and saw that she was a very good example of a sea dragon with her gilled chest, long slender legs and tail, webbed feet, two small fins coming from both sides of her head, and the fin running from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Wart then remembered that Changeling had told him that she wanted to break the "captive sea dragon" so she could ride her into battles. A shudder ran down his back when he pictured a smiling Changeling riding an armor-coated Maryne into a lethal battle...

He unlocked the chains surrounding Maryne's wrists and led her out of the caravan, lightly tugging on the chain on her neck so he didn't arouse any suspicion from Laigon or any other horde members. As Wart led Maryne towards his personal tent he made sure to glare evilly at any horde member who looked at him questionly, because everyone in the army knew that Wart was Changeling's right-hand dragon. His tent wasn't that lavish, just a sleeping bag and a table surrounded by a tent, but it was concealed enough to tell Maryne his plan. He set the end of Maryne's neck chain down on upon the table within claw's reach in case she made a bolt for it. Then, he explained in a low voice.

"I want you to take a letter to the leader of the sea dragons." Wart started in an even but soft tone. He set a letter down in front of her, which had been written just before he got into the slave caravan. "It's been coated with seaweed elixir so it'll repel water, but I need a fast swimmer to deliver it for me. This letter will warn the leader of Changeling's plans and will hopefully make the city go on high alert. Knowing Changeling's persistent nature, it won't stop her plan but will most likely slow her process down. I want you to take this letter, deliver it to the sea dragon leader, and then come back here."

Maryne looked surprised. "Come back here? Why? Won't Changeling suspect something?" Wart smiled as he shook his head. "If she does suspect something then the blame will go to Laigon. After all, he is the Slave Master." Wart said the words Slave Master like they were curses. "Also, I'm going to need you when I finally stab that slimy cat in the back! Just come back at the dead of night; I'll be waiting for you and I'll 'recapture' you so Changeling doesn't get suspicious. So, are you up for it?"

Maryne considered it, and then nodded her head silently when she understood. Without sparing anymore words, Wart led her out of his tent and headed towards the shore where very many horde members wouldn't spot them. Click! The chains around her neck came off with the single turn of a key. The mutated dragon handed her the letter, and she clasped it tightly in her mouth. Giving her the okay signal, Wart proceeded up the beach away from her. Wart looked around, and then came up with the ultimate distraction to make sure she wasn't spotted.  
  
"HEY! LUG-HEADS!" Wart shouted at the horde members who were too close for comfort. They turned their heads away from the shore just as the graceful sea dragon slid into the water without making a splash. Wart pulled down one of his eyelids as some of the dumb lizardmen started to pick up their hard maces. Even the lowliest horde members didn't like hearing some broken and bruised dragon insult them. "Your mothers were a pack of one-eyed worms!" Wart then fled as the lizardmen chased after them with their mouths shouting obscene phrases. He gave the place where Maryne last disappeared a final hopeful glance before the lizardmen caught up with him and beat the snot out of him.

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Changeling will never know what hit her. This thought was the last one in Wart's mind before a steel-plated mace knocked him out cold.

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The rest of the day was uneventful at the mansion. As Spyro and Ripto were reluctantly cleaning the ash from the room, Eledor ran in and announced that it was dinner. The three of them were then led to a very lavish dining room, which a long table practically filled to the brim with delicious food. A week of eating nothing but meager fish and fruit really worked up an appetite for the heroes, and all the delicious food soon disappeared in a matter of seconds. After that, the heroes had walked casually in their damaged rooms and slept peacefully for the first time in a week.  
  
The first rays of sunshine gently touched Snowflake's cheeks. Always an early riser, the white dragon rose from her bed sheets and gave both of her webbed wings a great stretch. She let her eyes focus, and she looked out the window. Snowflake gave a loud gasp. A large sea dragon was waiting on the beach while lying down in a lazy position. Snowflake could spot three shapes dwarfed by the massive creature, and she could tell that it was both rhynocs and Spyro, who had risen from his slumber much earlier then Snowflake. Knowing her duty, she quickly grabbed all of her possessions and went to wake up Ripto.

"Ripto, wake up!" Snowflake whispered to the peaceful form wrapped in blankets. The bundle stirred and muttered something. "...Just five more minutes Crush. Even kings need their sleep..." Snowflake, not amused, shook Ripto firmly. "Wake up, you lump! There's a sea dragon outside!"  
  
At the mention of dragons, Ripto quickly rose out of the blankets with his scepter at hand. He noticed Snowflake and said crossly, "They have water versions of those blasted creatures now? Uh, no offense!" Ripto quickly added when he saw Snowflake's cross look. She just shook her head and shouldered her backpack, Ripto following. The pair walked out of the mansion that gave them temporary shelter from the hardships of their quest and onto the beach. The air was still cold, as the day was still new. Just as Grendor had said, Bane the sea dragon was waiting for them.

"So, you're Snowflake, holder of the Green Crystal." Bane started. He lowered his large head down to her level. A shiver traveled up Snowflake's spine as large green eyes studied her intently. "Your friend has told me much about you, and how you saved one of Avalar's biggest threats from a frozen death." Ripto coughed nervously at the mention of him by this large creature. The dragon took some time to stretch its forelegs before continuing. "My friend Grendor took me that you need to get to the Blue Gigas Crystal. Another creature asked me this; a purple feline by the name of Changeling." The three heroes darted worried glances at each other. Bane laughed heartily.  
  
"Hah! Like I tell anything so sacred to someone as evil as her! Since you three are noble of heart, I will take you through the shortest route to the Blue Gigas Crystal. However, there is a catch. The sea dragons are very cautious at this time of peril, so they need to have someone that is a friend to their people escort you through the city. After all, the city contains the entrance to the Kraken's lair, which guards the Blue Gigas Crystal." The three of them didn't know what to say. An escort? After the whole Nazza ordeal, they were hesitant of having a new member so soon. Bane saw their discomfort. "Don't worry. Eledor is sure to help you."  
  
"Eledor!?!" Spyro blurted out. He shot a glance at Eledor, the very rhynoc who both housed him and beat the living daylights out of him. His instincts told him that the rhynoc still couldn't be trusted with something as severe as the Gigas Crystals, but he had no choice to comply. Bane nodded when he heard the trio agree with his choice. "Very well then." Bane stretched down his great neck and rested his chin against the sand. "Climb up onto my back and I'll swim to the sea dragon's city."  
  
Snowflake spotted a flaw. "Wait! If you're swimming, then how will we breathe?" Bane smiled, and then turned his head to Grendor. The rhynoc handed the three of them conch shells big enough to cover their mouths with. Bane explained. "They're enchanted shells. Breathe through them and they'll provide you with enough oxygen to survive the trip down to the sea dragon city. Their city is covered with a bubble of contained air, so don't worry about your oxygen supply. Oh, and since I'll be traveling faster then a swordfish, I'll need your loose belongings."  
  
Snowflake handed her backpack with her necklace and Ripto's scepter placed inside the bag to the sea dragon. Bane took it, flung it into the air with a mighty toss of his head, and swallowed the backpack whole. Ripto made a strangled choking sound when he was instantly reminded on how his first scepter got destroyed. Snowflake nudged him, snapping him out of his state of shock. Now that the belongings were "safely" secured, Snowflake, Ripto, and Spyro climbed onto the sea dragon. Eledor had already taken a seat. Bane's scales made excellent handholds, and soon the three heroes found themselves comfortably seated. Bane gave a mighty roar, which would warn anything diving nearby to steer clear, and submerged.  
  
Snowflake almost let go of her shell when she felt the shock of the cold water embrace her. The sun didn't warm the waters yet, so it was as cold and clammy as a dead man's touch. Bane braced all his muscles, and soon was propelling himself through the waters at a very fast speed. Snowflake felt her heart jump as the dragon surged through the water at such a dangerous speed, dodging sharp rocks and debris littering the sea floor. Slowly, the white dragon began to get used to the speed and began to feel how exciting the travel was. They passed by whales, dolphins, giant sea horses, and sea turtles without a care in the world. Snowflake smiled; it reminded her of flying. This was what the wingless sea dragons called flying, and now Snowflake could see why they thought of it as tons more exciting then boating.

Bane started to slow his pace. He had entered a tunnel that was curving upward towards the surface. He whipped upwards and soon broke the water's surface. The four surveyed the surroundings. Bane wasn't on the surface of the sea where the sun would be touching, but instead in a cave filled with glittering purple crystals that possessed a light of their own. Bane paddled to the cave's shore and let his travelers climb off. As soon as everyone was off his back, he coughed up Snowflake's backpack with the two Gigas Crystals still inside. Bane shook the water from his scales and cleared his throat.

"We're still at the bottom of the ocean, fair travelers. This cavern is called the Serpent's Way. It's a very safe cavern trail that's guarded from predators and filled with jewels to light the way. At the end of Serpent's Way is the main gate for Azura City, the hub where many different kinds of sea dragons live. Eledor will be able to get you through those gates, but I don't know how you'll be able to convince the High Chieftain Moss to tell you where the Blue Gigas Crystal is."  
  
Spyro smiled at the sea-adapted dragon. "We're sure to find a way. After all, we did convince a large monster made of plant material to cough up the Green Gigas Crystal, and we did survive an attack by two of the largest breed of lizardmen." He said quite smugly. Ripto rolled his eyes; he knew that tone of voice all too well, especially when the purple dragon was firing insults at him. Eledor smiled to Bane.

"We'll manage Bane. I've been to this city before, and I'm sure they haven't forgotten me after the magic we gave them." She stated. She started to walk down the cavern, the luminous crystals giving her an eerie glow. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake followed her. Spyro started a conversation with the rhynoc, and soon all of them were happily chatting while walking down the strange rocky pathway. With that, the four travelers began the quest to gain the Blue Gigas Crystal.  
  
Bane watched them disappear into the cavern, their happy chatter echoing off the stony walls. He smiled sadly to them. "I wish you luck, little ones. With all the fouls things stirring in and out of the sea, you're going to need it..." And he slid silently into the waters without making a ripple.

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The sun was now in the position for noon. The sands and surf were beginning to warm up under the bright rays of the sun. Changeling took no notice of this change of weather. Her purple fur glowed in the yellow light, making her look like an imposing godly figure. A scowl was fixed on her face and the tender pink scar across her left eye seemed to glimmer. In her right hand was the two Gigas Crystals in her possession, their contained light glowing angrily as if protesting their capture. Her most trusted advisors, Laigon, Crystal, Dark and Wart, all awaited Changeling's decision. Her tail flicked across the sand as she studied the dangerous-looking machine just in front of her.

"I must say, I'm quite pleased with all of you." Changeling began calmly. The machine was twice as tall as her and was built in the shape of the average sea dragon. Its scales were made of waterproof metal. Claws as tough as diamond clawed the sand in front of it. Its serpentine head looked through strengthened glass eyes and had a torpedo launcher hidden inside its mouth. Its wings were slick and streamlined, with powerful propellers attached to both wings. Its back, which was shielded by its wings, held a cockpit that could hold three passengers. It took nine and a half hours of constant toil to make with the plans Changeling had, but everyone knew that with a whole fleet of these monsters she could do massive damage to anything in the water. Laigon looked pleased with himself. Crystal was fascinated. Dark was emotionless. Wart disguised his displeasure by cracking a smile.

"Crystal, hand the troops copies of these plans and tell them to build enough machines to house the whole army. They will work the whole night if they have to, and tell them that they won't rest until their machine is finished." Changeling ordered. The two dragons complied and were soon heading back to the camp where the rest of the army was. When the Crimson Scale was gone, Changeling began to explain her plan.  
  
"By noon tommorrow; we'll launch the attack on the sea dragon city. Everyone better be well rested by then, for there will be no delays! Anyone who does so much as complains about a sore back will have to answer to me. Any questions?" Changeling said as she paced back in forth in front of Laigon, Dark, and Wart. Wart quickly shot a claw into the air. He had no idea if Maryne will have delivered the letter by then. He had to stall for time. Trying not to choke up, he took a deep breath and expressed his complaints.  
  
"Milady, what if the sea dragons have defenses that can deflect our blasts?" Changeling raised an eyebrow and the bruised and battered creature, for he wasn't in the state to state flaws of her plans to her. "They don't have defenses. The sea dragons are too peaceful. How dare you try to spot a flaw in my plans, Toad!" Laigon chuckled loudly at Changeling's insult; Laigon loved nothing more then seeing the dragon be ridiculed. Wart cleared his voice.   
  
"Well, we can try to be sure. We can send just one machine out to scout and find weak spots in the defenses. One machine won't be spotted so easily, and since these machines can send messages to each other the scout can send coordinates of all the weak spots, thus rendering the sea dragon city to dust!" Wart then realized that his plan could be helping Changeling instead of helping the sea dragons. He waited for his mistress to answer. She rubbed a claw under her chin, signifying that she was in deep thought. Finally, she found her decision.  
  
"Good job, Wart. You're finally starting to think like your mistress. Okay. A scout will be sent right now. Since you thought of the idea, you will go." Changeling answered. Wart couldn't believe his luck. The dragon felt his spirits lift at the thought of saving a city from being destroyed by vengeful vessels. However, this feeling didn't last long...  
  
"And Laigon will go with you." Wart's spirits suddenly fell. He slowly turned his head to Laigon. The murderous sea dragon was smiling, flashing two rows of sharp serpentine teeth. He patted his two dangerous blades in a form of blessing his good luck. Wart tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. "Dark, you are Slave Master temporarily until this mission is over. If possible gentlemen, capture a hostage to beat a question out of. Good luck to you both." And with that, Changeling and Dark strode off to finish their own matters. Wart never felt so alone.  
  
"Well well well. Looks like you and me are partners now..." Laigon hissed, his eyes gleaming evilly as he surveyed Wart like a piece of meat. The sea dragon then climbed up onto the sea dragon and sat in the cockpit. Wart, crestfallen by his bad luck, relunctantly followed... 

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

Deep within the depths of the sea, a creature stirred from its sleep. Pure red eyes filled with malice flickered open and scanned its waters with its excellent vision. No, its cavern of air-exposed treasures wasn't disturbed by any intruder. When it spotted no threat, the creature stretched its flexible spine and gave a mighty yawn, which unsheathed the many rows of daggerlike teeth from its mouth. It smiled to itself as it slid two of its slimy appendages across its greatest prize; the Blue Gigas Crystal imbedded in a pedestal. It was none other then the powerful Kraken, Guardian of the Blue Gigas Crystal.  
  
"Sssoooo, did ye have a nissse ressst?" Kraken asked humorlessly to a bobbing figure floating just above his head, its body touching the surface that separated Kraken's lair from the air-exposed cave that protected his gold. It was a female sea dragon, with golden scales and ruby red fins. Her right claw was outstretched, and it waved in a mockery of the life it once had. Kraken grinned when he remembered the fight the sea dragon had put up; claiming that she wanted the crystal to protect her kingdom from attackers. Kraken saw through her lies. Everyone always wants the jewel for the same reason; to sell the jewel for unimaginable wealth. When Kraken saw her lies, he didn't spare her. He remembered how the dragon struggled under the water as he crushed her gills, prohibiting her from taking in water as oxygen. Soon, the dragon had given up and let the sea claim her final breath.

"Kraken'sss ssstomach growlsss. I mussst feassst." Kraken hissed. As fast as inhumanly possible, Kraken stuffed the dead body into his mouth and ate. The water around his mouth turned a dingy red as rows of teeth stripped the body of its meat. Finally, when Kraken was satisfied, he spat the sea dragon's skeleton out. The dragon skeleton fell apart and settled among the remains of Kraken's other food around the Blue Gigas Crystal. An outstretched bony claw touched the Blue Gigas Crystal, and Kraken quickly swatted it away from his prize as if the claw had the power to steal it from him. Kraken wrapped a tentacle lovingly around his cursed prize.  
  
Suddenly, when he came into contact with the crystal, a scene unfolded in his head. A white dragon, a purple dragon, a female rhynoc, and an orange lizard were walking down a cavern towards the city that contained the sea dragons. They were all land-walkers since they all breathed through lungs and had no gills on their body. Kraken flashed his blood-red teeth; the white dragon and the red lizard had Gigas Crystals. Which meant that if they came into his lair, Kraken would be able to add two more lovelies to his collection. He began to think about how the three exotic creatures would taste against his tongue. It'll be a real feast!

However, he saw something else following the three travelers. The two holders of the Gigas Crystals were being followed by ghostly figures that only Kraken could see with his mind. One shape was a large reptilian creature made of dead leaf litter with glowing red eyes, and he was closely guarding the white dragon with the blue skirt. Another shape was a large bird with feathers made of fire and with slitted purple eyes filled with malice, and he was following the short orange creature in the wizard's robes. Kraken hissed at Grunge and Incinder. Those two guardians could never amount to anything, and since the Gigas Crystals bound them they made sure the holders of their crystals would be protected. "Foolssss, you are. You jussst gave 'em your lovelies! You wassste none of Kraken'sss time!"  
  
Consumed by his visions, Kraken pretended to talk to the four travelers. "Come to me, prettiesssss. A watery grave awaitsss you!"

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

End of Chapter 6.

*pretends to be a movie preview man* What will happen to Snowflake, Ripto, Eledor, and Spyro? Will they be able to receive the Blue Gigas Crystal from the crazed Kraken, or will Changeling beat them to the punch? Find out in the next installment of "The Realms of Chaos"! *drops movie preview man act*  
  
Chapter 7 will come shortly, if writer's block does not seize my creative side again. It might be as early as before Valentine's Day (I have a fic planned for that holiday. A nice romantic story!) or might come as late as, well, the length of the last delay. :S 

Remember that I won't accept anymore fancharacters until Kraken loses possession of the Blue Gigas Crystal by either Snowflake or Changeling. Who will get it? Nobody knows...(Except me, but I'm not telling before you read the outcome!)

Remember to review! (And no flames! Constructive critism I'll take, but flames just show how immature you really are! And Da Dark One must never be taken seriously, for he is an ass that insulted my best friends just because they like Spyro and my story just because its in the Spyro section!)

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	7. The Underwater Trials of Kraken

****

The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 7: Underwater Trials

Rating: Good old PG never let me down yet, but anymore cussing or violence and the rating goes up.

Author's Notes: If you have trouble picturing the sea dragon machines Changeling created, think _Disney's_ _Atlantis: The Lost Empire'_s cruisers, only in sea dragon form.

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~

The four travelers continued down the lit cavern path towards the city of the sea dragons. Eledor and Spyro were carrying on a light conversation about how Changeling could be foiled, while Ripto and Snowflake both admired the glittering royal purple jewels lighting the passageway. Ripto's scepter, instead of being carried in hand like he usually does, was resting behind him in Snowflake's backpack, which he agreed to carry. The other three had to convince him that after the encounter with Nazza they didn't want some sea dragon to raise the alarm when Avalar's biggest enemy came into view. Travel down Serpent's Way didn't take very long, for it was in the middle of the afternoon when they ran into the main gate.  
  
"Woah." was the only thing any of them could utter. The main gate that separated Serpent's Way from Azura City was a colossal door made of the same purple crystals that had lit the path. It towered far above all of their heads, and Snowflake guessed that even the mighty sea dragon Bane couldn't be as tall as this gate. The only way to open the door was to lift the two giant locks that were on either side of the door; both high above their heads. The four of them stared at the glittering marvel in front of them, frozen in its spell. The one to break it was Eledor as she tentatively took a step closer to the gate...

"Halt!" Four lizard-like two-legged creatures jumped down from above and instantly surrounded the travelers with large pointy pikes made of driftwood. They were all roughly the same size, and all of them had velvet black scales that gleamed underneath the cavern's lights. Their eyes were a bright shade of yellow-green, which made their eyes seem to shine with a light of their own. Jagged fins rose from behind their shoulders and behind their heels, so they were definitely a breed of sea dragon. Spyro, Ripto, Eledor, and Snowflake all had their backs to each other and neither of them made an effort to move with the sharp points pointed.   
  
"By order of High Chieftain Moss, son of High Chieftain Waterivy and father of Princess Goldenscale, no visitors are allowed in Azura City during this time of crisis. All four of you must wait until the evil Changeling is driven away until you can visit our fair city. I suggest you turn back around and come back another day." The guard with his lance against Ripto's throat rasped in a throaty voice.   
  
"Hold it! You mean we summoned Bane, swam through rough currents, and traveled down Serpent's Way just to receive a "come back next week" warning? High Chieftain Moss allowed us to enter the city while Ripto was attacking Avalar!" Eledor protested. The guards laughed at her argument. Snowflake's guard came up with a snide response.   
  
"Did Ripto have a large army ready to level our city to the ground? Did Ripto have the power of the legendary crystals by his side? Did Ripto enslave many innocent creatures for his own evil devices? Compared to Changeling, Ripto's a joke! Besides, that short egotistical dinosaur didn't have the brains to search under the waves for us!"   
  
Snowflake winced at that last statement; Ripto was sure to do something foolish now that he had said that. She could see Ripto clench his fists right beside her, and sure enough he reached from behind him and pulled his scepter out from Snowflake's backpack in one swift movement. Eledor glanced at him worryingly, wondering what he was going to do. Spyro was whispering "please don't be stupid" repeatively to himself like a chant. Ripto pointed the potent gem at the guard's throat much in the same fashion he did to Snowflake when he was injured in Winter Tundra.  
  
"See this?" Ripto hissed. Magic coursed through the jewel and it started to glow with magical heat. The sea dragon lowered his pike, and his companions watched him and Ripto warily. "This is the Red Gigas Crystal, one of the six that hold this world together. We're on a quest to secure them all so they can be properly transported to the Diamond Palace, and I don't like your attitude about travelers. The only way to get the Blue Gigas Crystal is to go through your city, and believe me when I say that I don't want our quests delayed because of some warning!"   
  
Spyro, Eledor, and Snowflake were speechless. None of them had ever seen Ripto behave in such a premeditated manner. Was this the same Ripto that had foolishly claimed that he was invincible and that the worlds would be his countless times? The pike clattered to the stone floor, forgotten by the guard's numbed fingers. Lime green eyes narrowed. "You're Ripto, aren't you?" The guard asked. Ripto said nothing, but flashed a dinosaurian smile full of sharp teeth.   
  
"Yes. Fate plays a merry joke on us all, and that joke is that I'm the keeper of the Red Gigas Crystal even though I'm not a resident of Avalar. Either you let me and my companions in or else you will witness the might of one of the most powerful magic of your world!"   
  
There was an awkward silence that followed Ripto's demands. Snowflake's heartbeat sounded like a drum inside of her chest. All three of Ripto's companions waited for the sea dragons to react. After what seemed like an hour, the guards dropped their lances and backed away from the travelers. 

One of them bowed. "Sorry for the interruption, holders of the Gigas Crystals. You see, our king received an underwater note from a young sea dragon named Maryne that warned us about Changeling. It warned us to be on our guard, the reason why your throats were against our pikes. The only people who are allowed to pass are the holders of the Gigas Crystal, such as **W**arrior **A**gainst **R**aging **T**yrants instructed."

The four guards then scrambled up the side of the Azura City's gate. Snowflake saw the reason why they were the guards of the gate; they climbed up the smooth crystal face like geckos against a glass window. The group split in half, and with two to each lock, the dragons pushed the gate open.

__

Ssssskreeeeccccchhhh!

The beautiful purple crystal gate slid inward across the ground with a deafening roar. The gate was hardly opened at all; the lack of a worn path made this true. Dust fell in clouds across the group of travelers, and soon all conversation was cut off by hacking coughs. The gates slid to a stop, and when the dust faded they saw a passageway made from transparent tubes linking to an elevator.   
  
"When you go up the elevator, ask for High Chieftain Moss. May the tides of time always be kind to your sails!" A sea dragon called from high above their heads. Then the guards skittered away and there was no evidence that they were actually there. As they stepped onto the elevator and activated the thing to go down, Snowflake turned to Ripto. "Geez, how did you convince them to let us go? You're usually so egotistical, and yet you were so calm when you were talking to those dragons. How did you do that?"

Ripto took a deep breath and, as if afraid to meet her gaze, focused his eyesight on the deadly jewel on his scepter. "Where I live, threats are commonplace and you pretty much risk your life 24/7. Sure, I'm probably what you call egotistical, but I can be pretty calm if someone's pointing a pike at my throat." Ripto explained. Eledor let out a murmur of acknowledgement, but Spyro scoffed.  
  
"Please! Like you could think coolly, Mister 'Say-Hello-To-Your-New..." Spyro's voice trailed off when the elevator stopped and Azura City was presented in its full splendor. Azura City was a mystical city, possessing air thanks to the magical bubble surrounding silver and turquoise towers and buildings. "King" tumbled out of Spyro's mouth, forgotten as the group of four watched sea dragons of every size and shape walk across thin bridges hovering high above the "ground". Out of all the heroes in the group, Eledor was the only one that wasn't gaping at the wondrous sights.   
  
"Come on, we got to go to High Chieftain Moss. He's not going to just run into us while we're staring at Azura City, now will he?" Eledor then led them through the bustling streets of Azura City. Hardly any dragons stopped to see the new finless guests; the ones that did stop only did so because they recognized Eledor. The group followed Eledor through strange exotic streets and in-between lavish buildings that must've been used as apartments for the strange creatures that lived there. Finally, after had what seemed to be an eternity of passing through many streets and curbs, Eledor stopped at a domeish-looking building that was built out of silver and chrome. The rhynoc rapped a knuckle on the door.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." muttered an old, gravely voice from behind the door. An old biped sea dragon opened the door. His tanish scales, which were gray around the edges due to old age, were set off by the gray-green fins rising behind the creature's sharp blue eyes. He leaned on a nicely curved staff made of a fine oak with one claw; the staff had several medals and trinkets tied to its body. Despite his somewhat silly appearance, the air of authority was unmistakable around this wizened old dragon. He was definitely High Chieftain Moss.

"High Chieftain Moss," Eledor addressed him with a bow of respect. Moss motioned for her to continue. "My friends are holders of the Gigas Crystals, and they want to retrieve the Blue Gigas Crystal for the good of the sea dragon nation and the world of Avalar. If you would be so kind as to show us the way..."  
  
Moss cut her off with a wave of his claw. He stepped towards Snowflake and studied the Green Gigas Crystal hanging from her neck. Before she could stop him, he grabbed the thing in-between his hands and looked at it more closely. Snowflake let out a gasp; Grunge told her that only mages could handle the Gigas Crystal without experiencing the evil radiation the crystal brought to the Guardian himself.

"Before you ask young one, I'm a mage myself. I was around since before the Guardians were around, back in the days when the rulers of Avalar were all mages that either seeked to control the world in an iron grip or to try to solve the world's problems with magic that could only destroy." Moss closed his eyes as he remembered days long past. His wizened tone seemed to weigh down upon the others' chests as he reminisced about the Blue Gigas.

"I remember that fateful day when the accursed Blue Gigas Crystal landed here just as its brothers were scattered in different parts of the world. The council strived to figure out what to do with the potent gem; some asked to lock it away, others asked to destroy it. Soon, they agreed to seal it within a cave that would keep the jewel safe from robbers but make the jewel accessible when there was a time to use it. However, just before they put the jewel into the cave, my brother, crazed with greed, snatched the jewel and dashed off into the cave like a raving lunatic." Unshed tears welled behind the old one's eyes. "His greed, mixed with the radiation of the Blue Gigas, changed him into the Blue Gigas Guardian Kraken, a monster that wants nothing more but to supply himself with all the treasures of the seas."  
  
_The Guardians weren't born; they were created from people who were changed by the Crystal itself. _Snowflake thought. She remembered how saddened Grunge was when she solved his riddle. He was a king of a large kingdom, and the Green Gigas had ruined his life forever by both transforming him into a large monster with a hide of leaf litter and by sending his people away from the Mist Castle, changing it into the Mist Ruins. Ripto interrupted her thoughts; he had the tendency to do that.   
  
"So, if you're the Kraken's brother, then you can get us the Crystal right?" Ripto asked. Moss smiled at his eagerness. "Well, yes and no." Moss replied. "In order to receive the Blue Gigas Crystal from Kraken, you must pass his underwater trials; trials that test your bravery and the proper skills to hold the crystal."

Spyro smiled warmly; the little dragon was always eager for a new challenge. "We can take it on! If we can handle a large leaf monster, then we can handle a large underwater monster! Where do we go?" Spyro's spirited attitude seemed to breathe life into their situation. Moss started to walk in one direction. He said only two words to the group of young reptiles.

"Follow me."  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **

High Chieftain Moss led the group of four into a grand hallway. It was on the outskirts of the city, leading into an underwater mountain. Because of this, the magical bubble that surrounded the whole sea dragon city only touched the grand hallway and the entrance of the mountain. Polished tiles soon became smoothed rock underneath their feet. The only sound that echoed through the hallway was the steps of the group and the tapping of the Chieftain's staff.   
  
"It's an honor to have the holders of two Gigas Crystals take part in the Underwater Trials of Kraken. Ever since the Gigas Crystals were scattered and the Guardians were born many years ago, I have sent worthy personnel into the Kraken's cave to battle my brother and give the Blue Gigas Crystal to the sea dragon people. But, in order to test their worth of holding the Blue Gigas Crystal, I have created a test that will sort the brave warriors from the people who just want to play hero..." An ironic smile spread on his scaly lips.   
  
"Is there a possible chance that someone will get killed during this test?" Eledor asked. Moss remained silent as he pushed the large rocky door open. A circular room bare of anything save for a religious-looking alter made of marble in the very center and some wooden benches leaning against a wall. One wall had another boulder leaning against it, but no one in the group found it suspicious. Moss escorted them in, and the four heroes sat on the benches. Moss slowly made towards the middle, and laid his staff onto the altar.   
  
"As a matter of fact, yes. People who aren't worthy of this test do suffer the penalty of losing their life..." Moss said, as if the matter wasn't worth mentioning. Eledor narrowed her eyes.   
  
"Why are you letting us do this if we can easily die? If we die, the world will fall under Changeling's grip!" Eledor shouted. Moss shrugged his scaly shoulders. "Rulers conquer and rulers die. Otpir the Merciless was a big tyrant, but his rule was soon ended at the time of his death. Changeling can't live forever. If she wins, then she'll rule; the world can turn with or without her."

"But what about the city?" Eledor cried. "She has plans to harm the city; Warrior Against Raging Tyrants said so!" Moss smiled. "This city has lasted since my grandfather was a little sea pup, and it'll last until my grand offspring are old and wizened like myself. Nothing can harm this city and nothing ever will. Now, are you four going to stop asking questions and let me commence the trials?" That question immediately shut all questioning mouths. The dragon elder's smile stayed on his wrinkled face; he had retained his humorous spirit over the years. 

He grabbed his staff from the altar and held it over his head. His voice changed from one that is filled with love to one that had seen many deaths and losses. Moss's throat would always tighten whenever he performed this ritual; the young people he saw during this trial were never seen again by living eyes. "Oh great Kraken of the Blue Gigas Crystal, we summon your light to send willing youths to meet their fate in your clutches. Give us the strength to commence the trials, to prove themselves pure of mind and brave of heart. Send their souls to meet their callings!" 

Snowflake suddenly became aware of the swirling wind that entered the room. She was immune to the cold that the wind brought with it, but she could feel her companions wrap themselves to shut out the bitter cold. Moss, with the wind swirling around him, looked like a demon ripped out of a storybook. A blue bolt of lightning conjured out of nowhere struck his staff, and suddenly the wind and the cold was no more. Everything was silent; Moss stood there like a frozen statue and the four heroes glanced around at each other. Just when Spyro rose from his seat to check on the old one, Moss's head jerked in their direction so suddenly they jumped.  
  
"Young onesss." Moss's voice sounded different; a sinister hiss vibrated from his voice box instead of that wizened grandfather tone. His posture was also different; instead of standing very stately like a powerful figure, he slumped his back and looked more malevolent. His eyes glew a shade of crimson as he bared his teeth like a wolf surveying a flock of sheep. "You want to prove yerssselvesss worthy of fasssing me?"   
  
It was Kraken all right. Spyro rose again from his chair to stand defiantly at the possessed sea dragon. "Yes, Kraken! We've come for the Blue Gigas Crystal, just as we did when we came for the Green One!" Kraken/Moss let out a hoarse laugh. A shiver went down the group's spines. Kraken didn't seem half as polite as Grunge was. "The Green Gigasss Guardian isss a weakling. A total mockery of hisss lovely! He jussst gave it away! Didn't even tessst your modesss of battle. Not like I will, I asssure yooooou..."

Spyro faltered underneath the tone of Kraken's voice. The Guardian was a lot less nice then Grunge, and Grunge was threatening them on how intruders' bones were resting in his belly. Spyro smiled defiantly. "So, what's the big test?" Kraken shoved Moss's staff in Spyro's chest, causing him to double over in pain. Kraken smiled; this one had a spine. "There will be three tessstsss, you unruly dragon! The firssst will be a tessst of bravery; the sssecond will be the dangerousss path from here to my lair. The lassst tessst will be a fight to the death againssst me..."

Snowflake was growing impatient. Sure, Kraken was freaking them out but that was no reason for him to mistreat her friend Spyro like that. She rose from her seat and stood by Spyro's side. "Give us the tests then, Kraken, because all I'm seeing is a Guardian that's blowing more hot air then a hair dryer!" The possessed Moss smiled; he slammed his staff down just in front of Spyro's foot. "The trial beginsss now!"

The wind began blowing in the chamber again. Snowflake clasped the Green Gigas Crystal in her hand as if it would ward away the danger. Eledor seemed to try to sink lower into her clothing, and Ripto wrapped his cloak around himself for warmth. Spyro stood rooted to his spot; his eyes fixated on the possessed High Chieftain. Suddenly, images began to spring into their minds. Each person had different visions, but the effect remained the same. Spyro saw Elora, Hunter, the Professor, Bianca, and all of his friends slaughtered like cattle among a bloodstained field. Ripto saw a leather-winged demon that breathed fire and brimstone upon its victims. Eledor saw regions of Avalar destroyed; fire raging across dead bodies. And Snowflake, she saw a monster standing on a tall castle tower that had sharp teeth, long claws, and a tattered cape fluttering behind it...

Suddenly, the horrible images were gone. All of them were panting heavily as if they had all ran a mile, the images still fresh in their minds. "Your mindsss are all pure, it ssseemsss. One with greed or thoughtsss of themssselvesss would sssee imagesss of an empty bank or maybe themssself just sssitting there with a gun pointed to their head. All of you worry about landsss, friendsss, or even ssspecies in danger before your own sssafety. You passs..." Kraken said, a bit disappointed by how far the four actually went. Without using the staff as a walking stick ala Moss, Kraken led them towards the boulder that was leaning against the wall. The creature shoved it away without any sign of weakness, revealing a hole that led to a very high-speed current. Kraken smiled at them.

"I usssually get only gill-breathers to do the trial of speed, but sssince you four are air-sssuckerssss...." Kraken went and lightly touched each of the four travelers lightly with Moss' staff. A warm tingling sensation filled all four of them. Gills sprouted and fins appeared at the most appropiate places. When the spell was finished, Eledor, Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake examined themselves.  
  
"Dear Lord, I look like a codfish!" While Spyro and Snowflake were rather sleek looking finned sea dragons with gills to breathe through, Ripto didn't look as impressive. He looked more like a red sea monkey then anything else. Eledor, who now sported fins on her wrists, fins in-between her toes, and some gills, giggled at Ripto's shout out. Snowflake sighed.

"You look fine to me, Ripto." She replied. Spyro raised an eyebrow at her comment but said nothing. Ripto crossed his finned arms. "No I don't! I refuse to swim while I'm in this shape and that's final." Kraken hissed in irritation, but Snowflake quickly thought up a solution. "Don't worry; I'll carry you like back at Winter Tundra." Ripto's expression softened a bit, and he let the white dragon pick him up.

With a violent splash, the four of them got trapped in a swirling vortex that sped towards the Kraken's cave. Spyro, who knew how to swim quite well, sped way ahead of his companions. Eledor followed at a steady pace. Snowflake followed behind with Ripto clutching her with a death grip. The current sped them through rocky caves, in-between coral, and past some rather deadly looking rubble. As they swam at unimaginable speeds, they could spy the skeletons of sea dragons that failed to swim past the obstacles in time.

A large rock loomed ahead of them. It bobbed up and down in the water, but it was held to place by the magic contained in it. A small cave opening was in the front of it; almost as small as a pinhead from their current position. The magically controlled current launched them at the cave at breakneck speeds, and the four of them soon found themselves sucked into the inky black darkness.

The third trial had yet to begin...  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
"Tell me, what kind of creature would fill their house full of books? It's unnatural!"   
  
Wart rolled his eyes at Laigon's remark. The underwater scenery went unnoticed as they cruised through the briny deep in the large underwater dragon machine. While Wart operated all the engines and weapons, Laigon controlled the ship's limbs and direction. Together, the two controlled an awesome beast that could tear Bane apart with metallic limbs.

They had scoped the coast, and sure enough they had ran into Grendor's mansion along the way. Laigon had hated the whole experience. The rhynoc wouldn't be of any use to Changeling; rhynocs were supposed to fight, not _read_! Also, when interrogated, Grendor said he never saw any purple dragons, white dragons, or orange lizards. Laigon had even searched the entire house, but there was no possible evidence that three reptiles ever came that way.

"I bet he hasn't seen anyone in years. I bet he spends all his time reading books!" Laigon hissed. Laigon, a true warrior at heart, thought all forms of art were a waste of time. Books were nothing more then groups of words that geeks read because they were too weak to participate in true entertainment. Paintings were just sploshes of color that imitated the life that they could never possess. And, why solve puzzles when you could spend your time slaughtering some poor creature? This was probably one of the reasons why he and Wart weren't good friends; Wart had Laigon beat in the intelligence apartment. Wart flashed neon yellow teeth to himself; Laigon was no threat to him at all.

"So, this is Azura City. Marvelous." Laigon said emotionlessly. Azura City reared out from the dark depths, and Wart saw a dazzling city surrounded by a magical bubble that supplied oxygen to keep the occupants breathing. Atlantis had nothing on the sea dragon's city, and Wart was gladdened by the fact that no one up until now was able to disturb the peace. Laigon was thinking the exact opposite; he wanted to see this city burst into clouds of dust for insulting his precious boss.

"Wart!" Laigon's voice called. He circled the ship around the city. "I found a weak spot in the city's main structure. Fire a torpedo at the direction I'm pointing and this city is as good as dead!" Wart rolled his eyes; the idiotic sea serpent didn't know basic commands. His hand reached for the button and pressed it. Laigon smiled and waited for destruction.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Laigon was obviously very cheesed off. His left vein throbbed in his neck as he turned his head at Wart's direction. "Where's the torpedo, you sorry excuse for scales and flesh?" Laigon shouted. An awkward silence passed between the two reptiles as Wart's sickening yellow-green eyes locked with Laigon's feral brown eyes. 

Wart shrugged his uneven shoulders. "It's a wonder this prototype has any defenses at all. Someone seemed to have forgotten to install the torpedoes in." Wart didn't mention the fact that he *forgot* to install the torpedoes on purpose. Considering that Crystal was handling the other weapons like the claw mechanisms, Laigon immediately placed the blame on her.  
  
"That air-headed female! Changeling should've let me install the weaponry, not some prissy girl." Laigon spat. Wart didn't bother to mention that Changeling was female also; Laigon was a very stubborn individual and what he thought usually went. The watercraft bobbed slightly with the rushing current.

"So, what now Laigon?" Wart said, his emphasis on Laigon's name showing his displeasure to being around him. Another silence followed that comment. The mutated dragon smiled to himself; Laigon was actually using that thing between his "ears". That poor brain must suffer from neglect thought Wart vengefully.   
  
"I have a plan." Laigon announced. That's a new concept, Wart was tempted to say, but he knew that if he backsashed Laigon he'll get a scimitar shoved down his throat. Laigon started to steer the craft in a different direction. "I'm going to grab the Blue Gigas Crystal and please Changeling!" With a lurch, the ship changed direction and sped through the waters. Wart dug his neon yellow claws into Laigon's seat in front of him as the dragon craft swerved with Laigon's sharp turns.

"What the hell are you doing? I thought only the sea dragons of Azura City knew where the Blue Gigas was!" Wart shouted. The wind was knocked out of him from whiplash as Laigon suddenly stopped the craft. The sea serpent's eyes radiated pure hatred at the dragon. A scimitar slid out it's holder and was pointed at Wart's throat.  
  
"You know what, Wart? I'm an Azura City Citizen. I remember when the Blue Gigas Crystal was first located into the Kraken's cave, and I happen to remember exactly where the Kraken's cave is. If I bring back the Blue Gigas Crystal, I'll be Changeling's second-hand reptile, not you! I'm sure she'd rather have a strong sea dragon like me be her right-hand reptile rather some mutated failure that has a face only vomit could love. If you say anything about me not telling Changeling the location of the Blue Gigas Crystal, I will make sure the poison of my blades eat you from the inside!" 

Laigon turned around and went back onto the controls. The engines whirled as Laigon forced the craft into its maximum speed. An insane holler rose from his scaly lips as the sea dragon machine sped towards Kraken's cave. 

Wart knew he was in the hands of a madman and there won't be any way out anytime soon...  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
The four finned friends found themselves in shallow water again. They had reached their destination all right; spilled treasure littered the bottom of the pool they had landed in. One by one, Spyro, Eledor, Snowflake, and Ripto climbed onto the rocky banks into the cave. When they emerged from the water, a tingle ran down their spines. Kraken's magic spell wore off; the fins and gills the group of four had faded away.

"Check this place out. No wonder Kraken is so greedy..." Spyro gasped. The vacuous cave was filled with piles of treasure that had fallen out of sunken ships. The place looked like an underwater ogre's lair, complete with the piles of gold and jewels to sleep on. Only this cave had barely any dry land to walk on, as the other half of the room sloped down into a deep dark pool with waving kelp branches in the water.  
  
"Ssso, you actually made it. Congratulationssss." Kraken's voice vibrated in the cave. When he was using Moss as his puppet, Moss's voice box didn't give it the booming tone Kraken possessed in his real body. The group quickly ran towards the source of the noise, jumping over piles of treasure that were in the way. The water in the deep pool stirred as the kelp branches writhed. Snowflake gasped; those large kelp branches were really dark greenish blue tentacles. 

A slimy squid-like head emerged from the water; a torpedo-shaped face framed with deadly spikes made from a tooth-like substance. Malicious red eyes glowered at the group of heroes. Kraken's body was consisted of large tentacles that writhed like they had minds of their own and four large claws that were used to rip the ship hulls apart for treasure. A tail with sharp spikes like a whip curled behind him like a scorpion's tail. As his body rose from the water, Spyro spotted a glowing blue light underneath the monster. The Blue Gigas Crystal! Spyro braced himself to run.

"Now, time for you three to ressseive your eternal reward!" Kraken was now towering to his full height; he was an octo-monster of monstrous proportions. He slammed two large legs covered with hair-like tentacles onto the cave floor, scattering his ill-gotten treasure in many directions. Spyro, seeing his chance, dashed towards the monster and his crystal. With a sickening sucking sound, a glob of ink shot towards the group. Snowflake scoffed.   
  
"Please. A ball of ink? What's that going to do; get us dirty?" A drop faster then the main body hit Snowflake's left arm and quickly dissolved into her skin like acid. That gave her impetus to run as fast as her body allowed her. _Sssssssss! _The acid landed in a large splat on the ground, the ooze mere millimeters away from Snowflake's feet. All the treasure littering the ground absorbed the goop; Kraken's ink had no effect on any of his precious lovelies. Suddenly, Eledor had an idea.   
  
"Quick! Grab a shield from the treasure!" Eledor instructed. Just as another ball of acid was hurtled at them, Ripto, Eledor, and Snowflake were ready. They held up large elegant shields made of different precious metals and jewels. As they deflected the blast, Ripto shouted, "We're not going to anywhere fast if we just block his attacks! We got to find a way to hurt him..." 

Spyro agreed with him for once. "Yeah! Find a way to get him from blocking the crystal!" Snowflake, as she held her large jeweled shield, looked down at the green glowing crystal hanging from her neck. She smiled as a plan formed in her head. "Eledor, do you have any levitation spells?" Snowflake asked casually. _Ssssssssss!_ Eledor nodded to her friend. "Yes! Grendor and me just found it in an old book back in the closet. It may be a bit rusty..."  
  
"JUST DO IT!" Ripto shouted as a spray of ink bigger then their shields would be able to deflect hurdled towards them. Time seemed to slow down. Eledor pulled out her wand from her clothes. Acid rained death towards them. She closed her eyes tightly and quickly chanted the words. Snowflake and Ripto crossed their fingers. Spyro watched for an opening...  
  
"Yah!" Purple light surrounded the inky acid, condensing it into a ball in mid-air. Kraken paused and watched the magic unfolding in front of him as if in awe. Spyro waited to see what his friends were going to do, his eyes still locked on the Blue Gigas Crystal just out of reach. Eledor strained to hold the goop and, with a quick twitch of her wand, sent the ball hurdling right at Kraken's face.  
  
_Eeeeeeyarrrghhhh!_ An unearthly screamed pierced their ears as Kraken clawed frantically at his eyes with his large claws. Spyro jumped into the deep water for the Blue Gigas Crystal. He navigated around numb tentacles as he hurried towards the crystal. Unfortunately, Kraken's pain wore off a lot quicker then they hoped. "Tricky little devilsss, you are. But not tricky enough!" Bubbles spilled out of Spyro's mouth as tentacles wrapped around the dragon just as his claw was barely touching the crystal. Kraken smiled at them with wicked teeth. "I knew you'd try the old ssshield trick. Happensss every time! Now, watsssh asssss your friend'sss life isss lossst!" 

Spyro thrashed in the water frantically as he tried to free himself from the tentacles. Alas, the octopus-like limbs were very sticky, holding the dragon like a fly in a spider's web. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. Colors flashed before his eyes. He inhaled water in a futile attempt to supply his lungs. Just when he thought it was the end, Kraken's grip suddenly loosened and the dragon quickly swam to the top.

As Spyro greedingly gulped large amounts of air, a loud sound echoed through the cavern. Kraken's head was seized by a very familiar-looking monster with glowing red eyes and scales that looked like leaves....

"Grunge!?!" Spyro shouted. Indeed, as Spyro had scrambled against the tentacles, Snowflake had tried to summon some kind of protective power from the Green Gigas Crystal to save her friend. She was in for quite a surprise when Grunge suddenly materialized at her feet. Kraken clawed at Grunge, tearing pieces of him with each swipe. Despite all the wounds Kraken created on Grunge's body, the leaf monster still held on tightly without any signs of weakening. Sinister snarls issued from the fanged mouth as it tried to escape Grunge's grip. Eledor's voice called out to him. "Get the Crystal, Spyro! Get it while he's distracted!"

Spyro needed no second warning. The purple dragon dived back into the depths, even more wary of the limp tentacles then he was the last time. At the bottom of the pool, which was disgustingly filled with the remains of those who failed, shone the Blue Gigas Crystal on its pedestal. Spyro grabbed it with both his claws and the crystal came off. He scrambled to the surface of the water. He walked towards his friends, crystal in mouth. Instead of greeting him and patting him on the back, they were staring at Kraken. Spyro turned around and saw a humble sight.

Kraken was bowing to him. The large monster, who was previously trying to kill his friends, had his slimy head lowered to the ground. Grunge did the same thing, parts of dead leaves falling from where his massive body was injured. Kraken's voice ran out in the caverns, a melodious tone to his normally hollow voice.   
  
"True hero of Avalar, you are the new Blue Gigasss holder; the firssst one to passss all the Underwater Trialssss of Kraken. You are alssso now the one I ssshall protect, asss isss the law of the Guardiansss to alwaysss guard the Crysssstalssss. My power isss yoursss to command." As with that, both Grunge and Kraken faded away like apparitions. Something cold traveled up Snowflake's spine when the cave was empty of guardians. Spyro ran to a pile of treasure and dug for a necklace to hang the Blue Gigas Crystal in. 

When he had a brilliant golden necklace holding the fatal gem around his neck, Spyro said the one thing that troubled them the most as they stood in a large cave at the bottom of the sea.  
  
"How are we going to get out of here?"

****

  
~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~   


End of Chapter 7

*slumps into chair* Whoo...I hate writing battles and this one had a doosy. I'm sorry if the battle with Kraken was distasteful and utterly disappointing, but I can't write battle scenes to save my life. I'm also sorry for the delay; I had sort of a writer's block.

The Kraken's cave has only one exit, and that's to dive into the water and swim out. This is going to be a problem...

*Announcer-like voice* Now that the Blue Gigas Crystal is contained, Changeling will change her target to the mysterious crystal that can bend minds and make people insane; the legendary Purple Crystal of the Mystic Mountains. (Located just near the Mystic Marsh in Spyro 2) Will Spyro and his buddies receive this crystal like the rest, or will the tricky feline have something up her sleeve? And what exactly does Wart have in store for the young heroes? Tune in next time for the eighth chapter of The Realms of Chaos!

  
There's a little button down there that tells you how you thought of this chapter, or this story in general. Suggestions will be accepted, but prejudiced flames won't be.

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	8. Escape from Under the Waves

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The Realms of Chaos   
  
Chapter 8: Escape From Under the Waves   
  
Rating: Good old PG never let me down yet, but anymore cussing or violence and the rating goes up.   
  
Author's Notes: This chapter came fast. O_o Inspiration has struck me! In case you want to know, the official website for The Realms of Chaos is www.turquoisephoenix.tk. Oh, and sorry about the fact that I can't do battle scenes justice. There's another one in here, but it's more of a-well, you'll find out.   
  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
It's been two hours since the group of four had won the battle against the Blue Gigas Crystal Guardian. The past two hours were spent finding a safer exit out of the cave then the raging current outside the main entrance. After a while of searching, Spyro announced that they should try in the morning. (Time was kept track by the fact that Eledor had a waterproof watch on her wrist.) By finding some flammable paintings among the piles of treasure, Spyro and Ripto started a fire for the group to cook the only food left in Snowflake's backpack; some fish from the rainforest and some beef jerky. They chewed on their food in silence, until one of the group members couldn't take the silence anymore.

"How is it that I've been working magic throughout most of my life, and yet Snowflake was the one to summon a magical creature to save us? It's unbelievable!" Ripto stated, his claw still holding half a dried fish. Snowflake smiled smugly at Ripto. 

"Oh, a dragon is not supposed to perform great feats of magic. I forgot about that rule! Really, if a female rhynoc can lift a giant ball of acid and fling it at a giant squid monster, then a dragon can summon a plant monster out of nowhere to battle said squid monster. Let's face it; this quest has bent more rules then ever possible." Snowflake retorted.

"What other rules were there to bend?" Ripto asked. Snowflake shrugged. "Well, you specifically stated that you hate dragons, and yet you're close friends with one. Explain that." Spyro gave her a mental high-five for that question; the look on Ripto's face was priceless. Eledor snickered softly as Ripto tried to come up with an answer.  
  
"Err...well I, that is to say..." Ripto began. He met Snowflake's green eyes, their brightness rivaling that of the crystal that was strung around her neck. He smiled to her; he was sure glad that they couldn't tell that he was blushing. "Well, unlike Spyro and the flaming brimstone spewers of my world, you actually helped me in more ways then one. You actually stuck your neck out for me, and for that I'm grateful. Besides, you don't breathe fire, which is a major plus!" He stuffed the rest of his fish in his mouth and swallowed, pretty satisfied with his answer.

That wasn't a good enough answer for Snowflake. She inquired, "What are the dragons in your world like, anyway?" Ripto frowned as he described them. "They make the dragon elders of Spyro's kind look like bugs compared to those monstrosities. They towered over most of our buildings. Their breath turned anything that met their blaze into ash. Slitted red eyes as high as me could see well in both night and day. They were masters of the air and earth. They commanded the world with an iron claw with their high leader ruling over us like slaves. My family along with the rest of Riptoc race would slave for the dragons, digging in their mines to mine out the food that they ate. Nothing green grew in this world. No sunlight shone except during the hottest parts of the day, for the sky was always cloaked in ash."  
  
Spyro, Eledor, and Snowflake were speechless. Spyro, for once, had no snide comments to Ripto's talk. Eledor and Snowflake were on the brink of tears. Who could live in such a terrible place? Ripto continued. "In fact, me and two other Riptocs named Crush and Gulp just happened to be fleeing from the dragons that fateful day. They had caught me practicing magic, which was a crime punishable by death. I was fleeing from their claws, riding on top of Gulp with Crush following. Suddenly, as I was running, a portal opened in our path and swallowed us, sending us to Avalar." 

Then Spyro stepped into the story. "Then you fall into Avalar and declare yourself the new king. How could you even say such lies? Dragons as tall as buildings? A world cloaked with ash and brimstone? Who would buy that junk?" Spyro shouted.   
  
"As a matter of fact, I believe him. Spyro, what he said was true. I saw it in his eyes." Snowflake said. "There are dragons like that back in Tylia; the law makes it so that those monsters don't overbreed and consume the world." That cut off any further conversation on that topic. They sat in silence, Spyro and Eledor finishing their meal and Snowflake and Ripto exchanged some mild conversation between the two. Time seemed to pass on by at a quick pace, for soon the four heroes were curled in different places of the Kraken's Cave.

Despite the fact that none of them had any idea how to escape, all of them were sleeping soundly almost instantly.   
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  


"Kraken's Cave. Dead ahead! What did I tell you?"

  
Laigon steered the craft forward towards the floating cave, eerie blue light glowing out of the headlights of the machine. Night was even darker at the bottom of the sea, and yet Laigon had no trouble of all steering. Wart felt a shiver travel up his spine when one of the lights fell down upon a ghost ship littered with bones...

"Fish got your tongue, Toad?" Laigon sneered. "Or is it just because I proved to you that I'm a better second-in-commander then you are?" Wart was tempted to say that he'd gladly give Laigon the position of being beaten for every mistake and getting needles filled with chemicals jammed into his blood-stream, but he knew better then to say anything to him. The sea dragon drove the machine into the cave, and soon the dangerous craft emerged from the waters of the cave's entrance.

Laigon hopped out of the hull of ship with graceful speed, Wart following with a more reluctant exit. No light was in the cave except for the glowing embers of a dying fire and the faint light still glowing from the cockpit. Laigon nodded wordlessly to Wart, and the mutated dragon lit two lanterns for the two to use. The flames flickered strange shadows across the cavern walls, creating monsters from trivial things. 

"What the? Where's the Blue Gigas Crystal?" Laigon whispered harshly in fear of waking up any unseen foes. He had found the cavern's pool that had normally housed Kraken. The sea serpent dived into the water without making a ripple and searched the briny deep for a clue of the missing jewel. Not only was the crystal missing, but the monster that guarded was also gone. Only the bones that littered the pool's bottom ever gave them a clue that Kraken had really lived there. Laigon was enraged.

"Who did this? Who dares to defy Laigon of his prize?" Laigon shouted. He threw down his lantern to the ground with a shatter, his sense of secrecy forgotten by rage. The sea serpent ignored the burning sensation of hot wax on his feet; his chance to impress Changeling had just slipped through his fingers. The loud noise of shattering glass caused something out of the corner of Wart's eye to stir, so he quickly turned his light to that direction. 

"Who's there?" called out the dragon nervously. The flame's dim light was cast upon a bundled form. Without any second's hesitation, Wart scurried over to the stranger in the cave. He was standing at the feet of Eledor, who was wrapped with some blankets stolen from the treasure heap. Wart held his breath as he watched the sleeping rhynoc breathe in and out deeply as if enchanted by the sleeping form. She looked so peaceful, something that Wart had never seen from any of the hordemembers or slaves. Laigon found Wart and ran up to him.

  
"Big deal. A female rhynoc. Nothing to ogle about, Wart." Laigon said. Wart growled in annoyance. "Easy for you to say. The only girls I've known in my life made me miserable. I'm part rhynoc on my father's side anyways, so I find girl rhynocs somewhat attractive." Laigon just shook his head and pulled out a scimitar from his belt. "Whatever. Girl or not, she's still in the very same cave as the missing Blue Gigas Crystal. I say we kill her and search her corpse!"  
  
At the word "corpse", Eledor stirred from her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, only to focus on Wart's candle-lit face. Her scream would've alerted the others had Laigon not covered her mouth with ultra-fast reflexes. "Damnit, Wart! If you weren't so ugly, she would've kept quiet!" Laigon harshly whispered. Wart rolled his eyes; like his mutations were his fault. " Just get me some rope! There could be others in here." As quickly as possible, the ugly dragon dashed to the craft and pulled out the twine rope.

Within a few minutes of struggling with an angry rhynoc, Eledor was decently bound and gagged from the waist up. Laigon wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and headed towards the ship. They would've gotten away without alerting Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake of their presence had Wart not had stepped in front of Eledor's kicking range...  
  
Several things happened at once. Eledor let out a furious kick with all her might at the dragon's stomach, which sent Wart sailing through the air. The wart-covered creature landed on a warm pile of scales that happened to be sleeping near the painting embers. Snowflake woke up in an instant with a cry of pain. Ripto and Spyro, both alerted by the white dragon's screech, stirred from their slumber.   
  
"_You!_" Snowflake hissed venomously when her eyes adjusted on Wart. She remembered the dragon all too well from the battle that almost got her wing and leg torn off by lizardman that he sent. Wart slowly backed away from the seething female, only to bump into a dragon and a dinosaur. Wart turned his head and neon yellow eyes met forest green. "So, you followed us all the way to the bottom of the sea?" Ripto growled. "Well, let us show you how we take care of misshapen creeps!" 

Wart never ran faster. He hopped into the sub just as Laigon was about to close the hatch. The sea dragon machine came to life, lighting up with an eerie blue light. Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto ran as fast as they could after the submarine, but they were too late. Laigon, Wart, and Eledor disappeared beneath the water.   
  
"No!" Spyro screamed. The dragon slumped slightly, like the weight of the situation was pressing down on his back. Snowflake patted his back. "I'm sorry, Spyro. I'm sure Eledor has the strong enough will to avoid being tortured by Changeling's tricks." Snowflake said, but it didn't take a scientist to tell that her tone was unsure. The trio just stood at the edge of the only exit of the cave, sleep forgotten. Suddenly, a shape rose from the waters. Everyone braced themselves; the submarine probably returned to unleash a rage of hellfire on the group. However, instead of a sinister machine, a friendly sea dragon emerged, his silver scales glittering.

"Bane! Boy, are we glad to see you!" Spyro shouted. Bane made an attempt to smile, but the thoughts that were circling through his head were anything but happy. "Those two lizards in that craft were Changeling's goons. I've been following them since they first arrived at Grendor's mansion to find out anything about your whereabouts. If we are to have any chance of saving Eledor, we have to act fast!" 

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Spyro agreed. Bane needed no other words; he lowered himself to the ground and let the three heroes climb onto his back. Before Bane dove into the waters, Snowflake let him swallow her backpack again rather unceremoniously and in turn Bane coughed up the four shells that were used to breathe underwater in their last trip. As soon as they were ready, Bane dove into the water and sped after the craft.

As they sped through the waters after the machine, Snowflake could feel a bad feeling come to her gut...

****

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ 

Laigon was cracking a rather smug smile to himself. He didn't have the Blue Gigas Crystal, but he did have a hostage to torture and to maim. Wart wasn't so happy; Eledor was putting up a good fight through stubborn struggling. Because of his over-confidence, Laigon was steering the craft at a lower-then-average speed. That is, until Wart spotted a large shape speeding towards them.   
  
"Go faster, you fool!" Wart shouted. A claw scraped the side of the submarine, rocking the craft and shaking all the passengers from their seats. Laigon didn't need anymore persuasion. He turned on the engines and the sea dragon machine sped through the water out of harm's way. But Bane wasn't going to give up just like that. With a sinister roar, the sea dragon charged the craft and seized its tail. The sound of metal being torn apart reached the passengers' ears with a sickening sound, and soon the tail was torn off by Bane's sharp teeth.   
  
"Wart! Attack him with the back claws!" Laigon ordered. Wart complied for once; he didn't like the idea of being lunch for a sea dragon. The back claws gave a swiping motion that would've torn Bane's throat open had he not moved out of the way in time. Bane roared in pain as claws racked across his torso.

"BAAAANE!" Eledor shouted; the gag around her mouth had fallen off during the struggle. The water became dark red as the wound inflicted by the machine bled freely. Bane quickly shook off the pain and went speeding at the machine once again. Scale met metal and the craft was knocked to the side uselessly. Laigon gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"That is one persistent sea dragon!" Laigon exclaimed. He turned to Wart, who was swiping the claws in a defensive manner. "Wart, activate the lasers!" the serpent ordered. Eledor's eyes widened; the diamond claws alone caused damage to her friend. Lasers would slice Bane and her friends to pieces. She had to do something, but what? Her hands were bound and kicking Wart's seat didn't do much... 

Wart saluted half-heartedly. "Aye, aye captain." As much as he hated to inflict pain on others, the sea dragon had to be subdued before they get crushed like an orange. A wart-covered claw reached for the button.  
  
"YOWCH!" Eledor's teeth pierced Wart's skin. Wart instinctively stuck his finger into his mouth, filling it with the bitter taste of blood. At the same time, another blow shook. The glass on some of the monitors shattered, showering Wart and Laigon's feet with sharp shards. Laigon ignored it. "Wart, use whatever weapons that are available to us now!"   
  
"The defenses are disabled, sir. The sea dragon tore off two of the legs and the laser's hardware was crunched in that last attack." Wart replied, scanning the one remaining computer on the ship. Bane swiped the craft with his two frontal limbs, and at the same time the computer turned to static. Suddenly, the worst thing that could happen in a submarine happened near Eledor's head; a stream of water burst into the craft.   
  
"Laigon! We have to retreat!" Wart cried as he tried unsuccessfully to stop the water flow with his hands. "Bah! Running away is for cowards. We're not moving until this sea dragon is floating to the bottom!" Laigon scoffed. Bam! Bane rammed the ship once more. Two more holes appeared at Wart's feet. He tried unsuccessfully to plug them with his knees. Tears sprang to his eyes; they were going to die, and he will never tell Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto about how he wasn't the enemy they thought he was. As all of this was happening, Laigon just sat there surveying the situation in front of him. Suddenly, an insidious smile spread to his lips.   
  
"Wart, turn on the jet engines. We're going to ram into this dragon on my signal." Laigon commanded. Wart hesitated; the metal hull was damaged. If they rammed the sea dragon, the pressure would cause the protective layer of the cockpit to shatter. "That sounds a bit suicidal, Laigon." Wart mentioned. Laigon turned his beaked head to Wart, his eyes narrowed cunningly. "No it won't be. I can survive in the water for up to an hour and a half. I'll just tell my mistress that you were too incompetent to steer the ship properly..."  
  
Eledor let out a gasp of terror. Wart felt his blood go cold. Laigon wasn't retreating because he was a stubborn perfectionist; he wasn't retreating because he wanted the ship destroyed while Wart was inside. Wart's eyes met with Eledor's and he could see that she was as frightened as he was. Of course, the dragon knew there was no time to comfort her. Suddenly, a button stood out in a middle of the large cluster, a teal one labeled "Emergency Jets". The mutated dragon wasted no time. He pressed the button, much to Laigon's chagrin, and the sea dragon soared through the sea in a cloak of bubbles.

Bane was disorientated by the sudden appearance of blinding bubbles. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake, who were still holding on to the dragon for dear life, blinked in wonder. Bane paddled his tail like a big fan and scattered the mist away.

The mist of bubbles cleared. Snowflake was so surprised that she almost dropped her oxygen-supplying shell. There was no sign of the sea dragon craft anywhere at all. The only evidence that they were attacked was the many wounds on Bane. Bane let out a saddened roar that sounded a lot like the sound of a humpback whale; Eledor now belonged in the hands of the enemy.   
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~**   
  
The very damaged submarine in the shape of a sea dragon dragged itself onto the shore where Changeling's camp was, its body battered and dented by Bane's attacks. With a final shudder, the machine fell to the ground, lifeless. A yellow fist punched the protective glass covering with all his might, and soon Wart and Laigon were out of the ship, sucking in sweet air and happy to be alive. Eledor was not so happy. Just because she was safe from drowning didn't mean that she was safe from Changeling. She didn't know what the sorceress was going to do to her.

As soon as someone spotted them, the whole horde had surrounded the dead machine with torches at hand. Oohs and ahhs greeted the two reptiles and their captured bounty, until a rather angry Changeling pushed through the crowd. Changeling grabbed the first creature from the craft that was within grabbing range, which was unfortunately Wart, and started to violently shake the helpless individual.

"What is the meaning of this? I ask you to do one little thing and my beautiful ship comes back in pieces! There better be a good explanation for this, Wart!" Changeling snarled. Wart opened his mouth to say something, but Laigon was quicker.

"When Wart and me were exploring the briny deep for weaknesses in the Azura City walls, we find out that some prissy girl forgot to install the torpedoes." Laigon said, glaring at Crystal as-a-matter-of-factly. Crystal was about to claim that it was Wart's job to install until she saw the pleading look in Wart's eyes. Laigon continued. "Seeing as we didn't have a way to attack the city, my brilliant mind came up with a great idea. I would follow the current that protects Azura City from outside invaders and see if that takes me to a weak spot. Oddly enough, when I follow the current, I end up at the cave of the Kraken!"  
  
Wart rolled his eyes; following the current was a pretty dumb way to cover up the fact that Laigon was keeping the direction of the Blue Gigas Crystal away from Changeling. Lucky for both him and the heroes, if Changeling knew where the crystal was she'd have Laigon steer her to the crystal so she could grab it herself. If she had found Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto in there...

"While in there, my mistress, we found the sad news that the Blue Gigas Crystal was taken away by robbers and-" Laigon was cut off by a horrendous scream from Wart; Changeling had dug her claws into his shoulders. She tossed the dragon down onto the sand in rage; Wart's shoulders were now bleeding rather freely. She growled in annoyance. "Those reptiles! Just like the Green Gigas, they go and steal the Blue one just when I have it in my grasp! ARGH! Those little brats will pay with their blood!" Laigon tried to find a way to placate the seething sorceress.

"Wait, milady! We found a hostage from the thieves! A female rhynoc!" At those words, Laigon dragged the frightened Eledor out of the machine. Changeling walked up to her and studied the girl; as she looked at Eledor a smile spread on her lips. The rhynoc shivered; she did not like that smile at all. 

"Well, well, well. It looks like we bagged a friend of those annoying reptiles. You're going to come in handy, little one." She then pointed a clawed finger to Wart, who was applying some bandages to his hurt shoulders. "Wart, I want you to take the female and interrogate her. From now on, she's your personal slave. She will do everything you say or else you give her some of this!" At the word "this", Changeling tossed Wart a medical needle. Wart gasped, for the needle was filled with the same stuff Changeling used on him to make him the misshapen monster he was now. He could only imagine what the stuff would do to Eledor...

"Get her out of my sight, Wart. Chain her somewhere so she won't get away like that Maryne girl I found traveling up the shores. Do anything to get any possible weaknesses of her friends! That's an order!" Wart, sighing to himself, grabbed the rhynoc's ropes and led her to his tent like a trainer leading a horse. The sounds of Changeling discussing about how they were going to get the Purple Gigas Crystal in the Mystic Mountains died away in his ears; all he could feel was the glare of pure hatred at his back.

"If you think that I'm going to let you turn me into a freak-show like yourself, then you have another thing coming, Wart!" Eledor screamed as she struggled against the ropes that held her. By now, Wart was at his rather unfancy tent. It won't be long before Changeling packs up the horde and they all start heading for the mountains, so all of his possessions were flung in the corner. A driven stake in the sand was the only thing he could tie Eledor to, using the chains that he had taken off of Maryne a while ago. As he did so, he started to talk to his new slave.

"I'm sorry this has to be this way, but what Changeling says goes. However, I will promise you that I will not harm you in any way." Eledor's glare did not falter. "Why should I believe Changeling's right-hand monster?" Eledor asked in an acidic tone. Wart flinched; the last thing he wanted to hear from a female was the fact that she thought of him as a monster. He blinked his eyes to disguise the fact that unshed tears were hiding in his yellow-green eyes. "Have you ever heard of Warrior Against Raging Tyrants?"  
  
Eledor showed no sign that she heard him except that her glare softened. Wart lowered his head until his chin touched his chest. "How did you know about Warrior Against Raging Tyrants?" Eledor asked, her voice losing all of its hardness. An ironic smile played on Wart's lips. "It's because I'm Warrior Against Raging Tyrants. I used the letters of my name to create that identity in case Changeling ever found out. I wanted to make sure that what she did to me wasn't going to happen to anyone else."   
  
With those words, Wart left the tent to tend to Changeling, his feet shuffling against the sand. Eledor sighed and slumped sadly against the stake that held her, for she had no idea whether her position with Wart was a good one or a bad one...

  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
"I'm sorry. Very sorry. I did the best I could do..."  
  
Bane had dropped the three heroes off at a safe spot in the coast, avoiding Changeling's camp very well. It was a coast different to the one near the Ruins of Mist; mountains were not far off to the horizon and the sand was blanketed in a coat of thin grass. Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto bid the sea dragon farewell, and soon Bane disappeared into the waves.

"I can't believe that we led that scum get away with Eledor. We should've posted a sentry..." Spyro said, his wings drooping sadly over his back. Snowflake was angry at the dragon for blaming himself. "Cheer up, Spyro. We were too tired from the fight with Kraken to do anything, not to mention we didn't suspect that little dragon and his thug partner to appear in a submarine." She patted him softly on the shoulder. "Besides, we can't mope around when there's Gigas Crystals to obtain!" 

She removed her backpack from her shoulder and searched for the GCT, which was hard in the middle of the night. Soon, her sense of touch felt the tool and she pulled it out. The screen lit up and she could see a single red dot marked in-between some signals marked for mountains. Spyro looked over her shoulder and he smiled. He was now focused on the job at hand.  
  
"I know that place! That's near the Mystic Marsh! Elora told me about those mountains. She said that they're called Mystic Mountains and that the people who live there can climb up rock walls with their bare hands and has the power to use their minds in phonemical ways!" Spyro explained. Ripto rolled his eyes.  
  
"Please. I was all over Avalar, and I didn't hear anything about any rock-climbing superminds." Ripto complained. Spyro shot him a glare. "That's because they're a secretive race. No one's ever seen them; they can't get close enough to them without having their psychic power knock them unconscious."

Snowflake frowned; from the sounds of it, these powerful people will be more difficult then navigating through the sea or traveling through the rain forest. Still, they had a job to do. Starting tomorrow, Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake are going to set out to the Mystic Mountains. Will they actually succeed in foiling these smart creatures of the Mystic Mountains, or will their lives be distractedly cut short? One thing was for certain; tomorrow was another day...  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
End of Chapter 8   
  
Okay, now instead of the heroes mucking around in the briny deep, they're going to be exploring the inside of some mountain for a Gigas Crystal that controls the powers of the mind. (Psychic, Intelligence, Balance. Stuff like that.) However, with Changeling working even harder to obtain the only crystal not yet claimed, it's going to be tough work...

And what about Eledor? What exactly is in store for the wizard while she's in the hands of Changeling's second-in-commander?

Review, unless you are Da Dark One. Then you can go crawl back under your rock, you filthy son of a bitch. Your reviews don't hurt me none. Rather, they give me a good laugh. 

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	9. Psychic Revelations

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The Realms of Chaos   
  
Chapter 9: Psychic Revelations  
  
Rating: Good old PG never let me down yet, but anymore cussing or violence and the rating goes up.   
  
Author's Notes: I'm moving ahead of schedule, it seems. Some fancharacters will appear in this, but they aren't going to be major characters. The only major characters are my characters, Spyro, and Ripto. Nothing is going to change that. If anyone expects to have their character to become a permanent team member, then they have another thing coming...

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~   


Sunlight bathed the campsite of three lonely creatures with its warm rays. One by one, the reptiles stirred from their sleep and shielded their eyes. Snowflake let out a yawn as she scanned the horizon. No longer did she see the sea; they were traveling at an angle inland in the direction the GCT was pointing them. Now, instead of sand and surf, she saw dirt and mountains to the horizon. Ripto stretched his arms as he woke himself up.   
  
"That's the last time we travel in the middle of the night, I tell you. I hate waking up at one in the afternoon expecting breakfast..." Spyro stretched in a cat-like manner before agreeing with Shorty; after Bane had left them they had traveled through the night until they simply dropped from exhaustion. Luckily, the land they were in had no raiders to speak of. They had gotten off lucky this time.   
  
"Well, this is the right way to the Mystic Mountains. Course I didn't have to travel by foot; a portal just took me to that area to save some orbs from the likes of you!" Spyro said, his voice laced with venom. Ripto opened his mouth to retort, but Snowflake interrupted. "We're getting nowhere fast! For all we know, Changeling could be at the foot of the Mystic Mountains while you two are bickering about days long past! Either you two shut up about your past adventures or I'll stuff something down both your throats to make you shut up!"   
  
Ripto snickered. "Boy, it looks like a certain someone isn't a morning person!" Snowflake said nothing as she packed all their things into her backpack and pulled out the somewhat helpful GCT. One dot to signify the Purple Gigas, three to signify the ones captured by Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto, and two dots that Snowflake could only guess meant that Changeling had also done some collecting. Snowflake gasped; Changeling's position was moving in the direction of the Mystic Mountains as well. That gave her impetus to hurry her male companions to start the march.   
  
They walked for two hours at a jog, following the path that the GCT said was the fastest route. No one spoke, save for Snowflake and Ripto. They were busy talking about what forms of torture they planned for Changeling. Soon, they were completely surrounded by mountains tinted with purple. No doubt about it; they were in the Mystic Mountains. The wind whistled through dead trees lining around the mountains, and not a soul scurried through the brush. Shivers went up the heroes' spines. For a place that was next to a very cheerful spring filled with strange wildlife, it seemed pretty dead.   
  
"No wonder Elora didn't hide any orbs in this place." Spyro said as a dead tree branch fell at his feet. "You would expect the dead to live here!" Snowflake couldn't help but nod in agreement. As the dragon walked on, she felt something crack underneath her feet. When she looked down she saw that she had stepped on a long-dead faun skull. She began to feel quite uncomfortable.   
  
"I heard something in that direction!" Ripto stated. Snowflake and Spyro strained to hear. Ripto was right; the chatter of conversation was not far off. Snowflake and Spyro didn't bother to catch it because the dead land had taken them into a state of despair. Without a second thought, Ripto led them towards the noise, dry brush crackling beneath their feet. What they saw couldn't be believed. 

Three armed-to-the-teeth fauns were harassing three dragons. The three crept closer, holding their bodies close to the ground so as to go undetected. Soon, they could make out the shapes. The fauns were more rugged then anything from Fracture hills; their fur was thick and black, almost like mountain goat's fur. The hooves were also shaped differently, for they were more pointed for mountain climbing. They were all male, and they had several knives attached to belts around their waists.   
  
The dragons were strange indeed. They were all Spyro-shaped dragons, and that was enough to make Ripto grip his scepter nervously. Two were male and one was a female. One of the males had bronze scales, wore a green tunic, had a short sword with the sheath at his waist, and had a small wooden shield with a red magical rune on it attached to his back. The other male had red scales, a broken horn, and a torn left wing. The female was light blue with darker blue wings and pure gold horns. They caught snippets of the conversation.   
  
"We're going to cut you all up real nice and good. Wear your skins too. I always wanted a belt made of dragon scales!" A faun hissed, his voice like a rusty nail through sandpaper. The bronze-scaled dragon stood up on his hind legs and pulled out his sword. "Why don't you come and try, mountain fauns?" he shouted. The second faun hissed like a wraith, and then the short sword flew out of the bronze dragon's hand as an invisible force yanked it out. The dragon paled a bit, but he did not move.   
  
"Pointy sticks have no need for the children of the Balance Stone. Our mind alone can make you defenseless!" The third faun rasped. He pointed a finger at the bronze dragon, and soon the creature crumpled to his knees as if an unknown weight was pressing down on his shoulders. Snowflake had enough.   
  
"Leave those dragons alone!" Snowflake yelled. She went crashing through the underbrush and towards the fauns. Several things happened at once. The bronze dragon sprang to his feet and rushed after his sword. The red and blue dragons, inspired by Snowflake's war cry, joined in the attack and breathed fire and ice. Snowflake tackled one of the fauns to the ground and started beating the crud out of it. Ripto and Spyro, mouth and scepter ablaze, torched any faun that happened to escape Snowflake or the strange dragons' wrath.   
  
"ARGH!" The three fauns scattered in a panic, tails lit by fire. The group took a few seconds to catch their breath, until the questions and exclamations started.   
  
"Wow! We got saved by Spyro!" "We finally found you!" "Why is Ripto and Spyro working together?" The three dragons called out in unison. The tumble of words confused the three heroes. Snowflake held up a hand for silence. "Okay! We're going to do this in an orderly fashion! One by one, tell us your names. Then we'll answer questions."   
  
The bronze dragon bowed his head. "My name is Scott." The red dragon puffed out his chest. "Spyris is the name, and flaming is my game!" The blue dragon did a form of curtsy. "My name is Spyretta." Ripto did an involuntary twitch. Two of the three dragon names sounded dangerously close to his worst enemy's name. Snowflake kicked him playfully when he did so, stopping any unborn insults to break a forming friendship.   
  
"Tell us why you're in this dangerous territory, Scott, Spyris, and Spyretta." Spyro asked them politely. Spyris cleared his throat and explained. "Word traveled pretty far throughout both Avalar and the dragon realms. When me, my sister Spyretta, and my brother Syi heard about your adventures with a monster named Grunge, we banded together and decided that we were going to help you on your quest. However, while we were crossing through the rainforest, Syi broke down and dashed away to goodness knows where. Luckily, we met up with Scott sometime afterwards. We traveled together, and well, here we are."   
  
The group was a bit humble that their mission to collect the crystals was famous. Spyretta smiled at Spyro sweetly, and the purple dragon backed away a few steps. "Well, since we've met up at all, why don't we join you on your quest?" Ripto went into a hissy fit, despite the look that Snowflake gave him. "What? You three join us on this Gigas Crystal quest? No way! Two dragons in the company of me is enough, but FIVE!?! I'll go insane before the sun goes down!" Ripto shouted. Scott gave him a venomous glare, Spyris shook his head, and Spyretta looked down at her front claws as if she were sorry.   
  
"I have another idea." Snowflake said as she calmed Ripto down. "Do any of you know where the Purple Gigas Crystal is?" The three dragons exchanged glances with each other. Finally, Scott piped in. "We know where the Purple Gigas Crystal is, but the natives around this place refer to it as the Balance Stone. It's hidden within this sacred cavern that the natives visit all the time." The three seemed shocked. The other two Gigas Crystals were well hidden from anyone that wasn't worthy enough to hold the crystal. Why was the Purple Gigas Crystal available to the general public?   
  
"Apparently, the Gigas Crystal is shown off like some religious symbol among the natives. In fact, the Gigas Guardian is their queen!" When Scott mentioned Gigas Guardian, Spyro felt something crawl onto his shoulder that was both wet and slimy. When Spyro turned his head, he saw Kraken at the size of a lizard sitting comfortably on his shoulder. His purple eyes widened.   
  
"Before you asssk, Blue Holder, we Guardiansss are generally invisssible to your eyesss but we can appear in any ssssissse except for sssomething bigger then our regular sssissse. I prefer the lissard sssissse. Very nissse and compact." Kraken hissed, his streamlined head watching Spyro with glittering red eyes. "What I don't like isss how Robin isss breaking the rulesss. Flanking her lovely like a peacock'sss tail! Bah! Ssstupid girl!" Good thing no one else noticed the hissing creature riding Spyro's shoulder. He felt Kraken scramble off his shoulder, and soon their was no sight of the Blue Gigas Guardian.  
  
"Wait a minute, how can a large monster be their queen? The Blue and Green Guardians were large, frightening creatures!" Snowflake asked. She had remembered how Grunge had described how his people had fled from the Ruins of Mist, and goodness knows how many sea dragons died at the hands of Kraken. 

Scott shrugged. "That's because Robin comes in the shape of a sorcerer. A human sorcerer at that. I mean, why have large claws and teeth when your power is all controlled by your mind? Robin is on a search for her Gigas Holder, because she can't escape that room until she sees the Holder with her own two eyes. She'll know; the holder won't be a Mystic Mountain native and he or she will not be effected by the mind-altering radiation the Purple Gigas gives off."   
  
Ripto grew tired of hearing all this. "But do you three dragons know where this sacred chamber is?" They all nodded at the same time. Spyretta then said, "The fastest route. We found it out when Scott brought out his map of the Mystic Mountains that he had bought from a traveling native of the area." With the girl dragon's words, Scott unraveled a yellowed piece of parchment with a very clear sketch of the dangerous mountains. Pink highlighter was circled around a peculiar structure that was shaped like a hawk, with a bridge leading into its mouth. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake examined this map with wary eyes. Finally, Snowflake made their decision.   
  
"Okay, you three can tag along. But, after we reach the Purple Gigas Crystals we part ways!" Despite the harshness in her voice, the three dragons burst out in whoops of happiness. As the number of dragons boosted up from two to five, Ripto wondered if his sanity was going to stay intact within the Mystic Mountains...   
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~**   
  
Before Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto had woken up and started their march to the Mystic Mountains, Changeling's army was already awake at the first light of the day. Hordemembers of every size and shape were woken up by Changeling's shouts. Immediately, without any stopping for breakfast, the hordemembers grabbed anything they could carry and set off in the direction that Changeling led them; east to the Mystic Mountains.   
  
Fortunately for the three heroes, Changeling was taking the longer route to the mountain range by traveling along the coastline. While Snowflake and her friends were taking the fastest route to the crystal, Changeling was taking the way that she remembered would end up at the foot of the Mystic Mountains. While she marched in the lead of the horde, Wart and Laigon's slave caravans were not far behind. Behind the Slave Master, Horde Leader, and Second in Commander, the hordemembers trudged loudly with the thoughts of new towns to slaughter and plunder on their minds.   
  
Laigon rode on one of the wooden wagons with a whip at hand, forcing all the chained slaves to drag the heavy cart behind them. To add insult to injury, the slaves weren't allowed to actually ride in the caravans that held them while the camp was stationary. Whimpers and wails filled the air as sickly creatures expended most of their energy just to keep themselves from fainting. Every once in a while, an elderly slave dropped to the ground and was soon crushed underneath the feet of the others during the march.   
  
Eledor felt the pain of the slaves. She too was forced to walk against her will. However, she had it much better off. Her captor would always stop when she stumbled against something and he always shot venomous glares at the male rhynocs that happened to look at her wrong. She turned to Wart, who was walking beside her at a reasonable pace so that her chains didn't limit her movement.   
  
"What does that serpent think he is? He's going to kill those poor creatures!" Eledor cried. She started to walk towards the caravan, but Wart firmly tugged on her chains. "Don't even bother. Laigon has the right to do that to his slaves. Argue to him, and he sticks one of those scimitars down your throat. I'm not getting you killed!"   
  
Eledor wanted to argue, until she saw the firm look on Wart's face. She sighed to herself; this injustice would not go unsolved. They walked in an awkward silence until they heard a blow of an ancient hunting horn. The hordemembers squealed with glee; it was now lunchtime. Changeling, almost relunctantly, stopped the march and soon every hordemember was dashing towards Cobra, the camp's snake-like cook. Cobra hissed in approval as he spooned leftover stew into stone bowls held by greedy hands.   
  
Wart hurriedly pushed through the crowds to grab himself a bowl. The hordemembers reluctantly parted away before their second-in-commander. They never liked Wart, but his authority over them was reason enough to move away from him. However, some did stick around to "accidentally" elbow or shove the dragon as he made to the chef. Cobra looked Wart in the eye.   
  
"I sseess ya feedin' mah sstew to them ssslavesss. Did ya ferget that ssslavesss only get ssscrapsss to eat?" Cobra hissed, his forked tongue flickering out indignantly. Wart sneered at the snake. "Tell anyone about me feeding the slaves and I'll report you to Changeling, Cobra. I'm sure that red, black, and white skin will match perfectly with her purple cloak!" Wart stated as-a-matter-of-factly. That was reason enough to Cobra to shut up afterwards.   
  
Eledor felt her stomach grumble when she saw her captor return with a steaming bowl of stew. Her body was well aware of the many hours of marching she had been doing; she felt like she was going to faint right there on the sand. Suddenly, she felt the weight of the heavy stone bowl being pushed in her chest. Wart smiled at her as she sat dumbfounded in front of him. "Only eat half of that bowl, and do it quickly. I want to show you something..."   
  
She never ate so fast. The warm stew seemed to replenish the life back into her body. It was difficult to let the second half of the stew just go uneaten, but Eledor was true to her word. She got up to her feet, the muscles in her legs no longer sore, and handed Wart the bowl. Without another word, the two reptiles ran towards the slave caravans. Wart thanked the heavens for the fact that Laigon was too busy getting drunk with his buddies to look after the caravans.   
  
"Elora!?!" Eledor had recognized one of the slaves instantly. Indeed, Elora sat sullenly among several other slaves. She was now dangerously thin, thanks to the treatment given by Laigon. Her hair fell ragged over dirty shoulders. Elora looked up at the sound of Eledor's voice, her eyes no longer filled with the spirit they normally possessed.   
  
"Changeling captures rhynocs now? I never thought I'd see the day..." Elora's voice was hoarse. Wart handed her the bowl of stew, which she gobbled up immediately. Wart then explained about how Eledor was related to Grendor and that she had helped Spyro snatch the Blue Gigas Crystal. At the sound of Spyro's voice, Elora's face lit up. "Spyro. He's doing well in his mission to steal the Gigas Crystals. I'm glad to hear that."   
  
"How did you get captured?" Eledor asked. Elora looked at her hooves sadly. "Well, just a few minutes after Spyro left into the Rainforests of Mist, I realized that he had forgotten Sparx. So I quickly dashed after him, Sparx following me. However, I didn't know which direction I went in, so I ended up getting lost. Sparx and I hopelessly stumbled through the rainforest for two days, mad with hunger and despair. We thought that as soon as we saw a yellow sea serpent walking through the rainforest that we had been saved. But then, as soon as the serpent saw us, he grabbed me by the shoulders and said that Changeling would be pleased to see me. Now look at me. I've become nothing more then skin and bones and Sparx is locked in a glass container in Changeling's tent..."   
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, Elora. You're lucky Laigon didn't decide to use you in an embarrassing way, knowing how he likes to play with females..." Wart said, not going any further then that. Elora smiled sweetly, and handed Wart the empty bowl. Wart bid Elora farewell, and turned, only to bump into Crystal and Dark.   
  
"Umm...Hi?" Wart said, not knowing of anything to say to the two Crimson Scales. He knew he was in hot water; Crimson Scales were always the first to report to Changeling of any mutinies or strange things in the horde. Crystal said nothing, but in her pink claws was a stone bowl filled with stew. Dark held four bowls of stew, each one balanced perfectly in his hands. Crystal glared at Wart, her lavender-colored eyes narrowed suspiciously. "This isn't what it looks like, Wart. We're only-"   
  
"-Feeding the slaves. I know, I do it too. I can't stand to think of them as living off the inedible parts Cobra tosses." Crystal seemed surprised. "You feed them too? We thought we were the only people in this horde with a sense of compassion. It's a good thing Laigon passed out around one of the fires out back or else we wouldn't be allowed to do this..." The pink dragon handed a large green Gnorc-like dragon named Syi a bowl of soup. The paranoid dragon gave her an insane glare before it started to fill its aching belly.   
  
"Believe me, Wart's a really nice guy too." Eledor pitched in. Wart blushed; he never had someone actually stick up for him before. Crystal looked at Eledor, and then exchanged a surprised glance to her silent guardian Dark, who had given the bowls to gaunt looking creatures that Wart could not remember their names. "Wow, that's a first. There's actually a girl that likes you. I say, you're getting lucki-"   
  
"UP ON YOUR FEET!" Changeling's voice ran through the camp like a bolt of lightning. She stood tall and proud on an overturned wooden box. In one of her hands was a primitive microphone. Laigon was standing next to her, but his swaying motion and the empty rum bottle in his hand pointed out that he was still drunk. Crystal, Dark, Wart, and Eledor all dashed away from the slave caravans before Changeling could notice them, their clawed footprints the only sign that they were ever there. Just as they did so, the horde was up on its feet again and they continued moving.   
  
Laigon, drunk off his scaly tail, swaggered as he climbed onto the caravan and ordered in a slurred voice for the slaves to get moving. Elora gave Laigon a disgusted look; with all that alcohol pumping through his veins, it was a surprise he was able to balance on the caravan's roof.   
  
Once again, Eledor and Wart were near the front of the horde, walking at their own pace. Eledor gave Wart a quizzing look. "You're thinking about something. I can see it in your eyes." Wart nodded. He swung the ends of Eledor's chains over his shoulders, ignoring the sting of when sun-baked metal hit his still tender back. A smile played on his lips, revealing his sharp yellow fangs.   
  
"You'll find out what I'm planning just when Changeling grows over-confident. No more starving creatures. No more innocents chained and forced to work until they dropped dead. No more of cruel serpents jeering over dying creatures with two poisoned blades on his belt. Believe me, when I put my plan into place, Changeling won't know what hit her!"   
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
The group of six had traveled through a long and twisted path using the map that Scott carried. They all walked without conversation or breaks, fearful of meeting up with any other vicious fauns along the way. They walked up a mountain called Condor's Ridge until nightfall, when their sore feet finally got the better of them. The dead brush burned easily under the flames of both Spyro and Spyris, and soon they set up camp inside a cave that was next to both the trail up the mountain and the edge that would send anyone stupid enough to walk too far plummeting over several thousand feet.   
  
"And then, Spyro said 'Looks like I got things to do!' as the evil Gnasty Gnorc turned the dragon species into crystal statues!" Spyretta described over the campfire. Ripto snorted as he popped the rest of the jerky into his mouth. "He should've kept them that way. Stupid Gnorc; he had more muscles then brains in his head!" Ripto shouted grumpily. Snowflake nudged him softly with one of her wings, but she said nothing to upset his mood. One thing was for sure, Ripto was as stubborn as the hippogriffs back at Snowflake's home. The sudden thought of hippogriffs sent the thought of her home back to her head. Snowflake felt tears spring to her eyes. Home...Will I ever see it again?   
  
"What's the matter, Snowflake?" Scott asked. Snowflake flicked a drop of salt water to the ground and sighed. "I'm fine; a little bit of smoke got into my eye..." She said. The three newcomers just looked at each other and shrugged. Snowflake hunched her shoulders as she stared into the fire, watching shapes in the flames take the shape of her friends and enemies back in her realm Tylia. She saw the violent dracogriff Stormwing laugh at her before her human friend Crystal shot an arrow through her neck. Two phoenixes, Minerva and Doomfeather, danced in the fire like they were flying in a red sky. A smile formed on her face; she was happy enough without thinking about her friends.   
  
"Oh my goodness! Spyris, are you oka-" Snowflake's head snapped up in an instant. Spyris and his sister Spyretta were slumped on the ground unconscious, their breathing halting and painful. Scott tried to wake them up with several pokes of his sword, before he too fell to the ground unconscious. What was going on? She turned to Spyro. "What happened to them? Is this cave not ventilated enough or wha-" Snowflake was cut off when her mind suddenly went black. Snowflake fell to the ground with a crash. Spyro followed suit before he had any clue what was going on.   
  
A sinister laugh filled the air of the cave. The remaining member of the once happy group looked at the slumped forms confusedly, his hands gripping his scepter to his chest. He saw a shadow stir in the back of the cave. It stood about as tall as Snowflake, but instead of soft wing-like ears springing from its head, humongous goat's horns curved around tufted ears. Ripto feared the worst. Without even knowing he did so, Ripto sprang in-between the shadow and Snowflake's senseless form and pointed at the shadowed form.   
  
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Ripto hissed, the Gigas Crystal on his scepter glowing much brighter then it ever did before. The shadowed form stepped closer until the form became apparent. A gray mountain faun with curved goat's horns and soft tufted ears stared at Ripto in a panic. She, for it was obviously female, had thick fur just like the two fauns they ran into earlier, but she wore rather fetching leather clothes. She held up her furry hands.   
  
"Hold it, Master Ripto! I'm a friend!" Ripto lowered his scepter to the ground in shock. Did that faun just call him "Master" Ripto? He didn't know whether to be happy or angry. She did cause his companions to faint, but then again, she was loyal to him. The faun cocked her head to one side. "You don't remember me, do you Ripto? I'm Jira, one of the soldiers you sent to the Mystic Marsh to retrieve the orbs there. I never did find them, and I'm still unsure that we have Avalar or not..."   
  
Ripto sighed. Jira was in the past; he had tried conquering Avalar two years ago. At least he knew that the fauns were capable of great mind power. Ripto glanced over at Snowflake, who still looked confused in that unconscious state. If the fauns had that kind of power, why weren't they ruling Avalar with an iron hoof?   
  
"If you must know, we fauns like staying within the area of the sacred Balance Stone. We hate politics." Ripto jumped; he didn't know that the fauns could actually mind read! Jira smiled at her leader, not revealing the confusion she had when she had read the other thoughts Ripto had in his mind, the ones that seemed to be centered on the white dragon at his feet. Was her master infatuated with that dragon? Jira shook the thoughts from her head. "I can restore their minds back to order, unless they are your captors, Ripto. Then, I can kill them for you."   
  
"No, no, that's fine!" Ripto said a little bit hastily. He looked over at the dragons he despised and Snowflake. He could tell Jira to just wake up Snowflake and leave the rest of the dragons unconscious in the cave, but then he remembered exactly why Spyro was there in the first place. If he woke up and found him and Snowflake missing, he might suspect the worst and rally up all of Avalar against him. He could leave the three dragons, but they could also cause the same amount of trouble. Finally, after much debating in his head, he ordered his older loyal companions to wake them up.   
  
"Whaaaa....My head is pounding..." Snowflake groaned, the spell broken by a single motion of Jira's hand. The others followed suit in much the same fashion. When all of them were up and conscious again, Ripto introduced them to Jira. The group had mixed feelings; how could they trust a mind-reading creature with the power to knock them unconscious at any given moment?   
  
"I know the way to the Balance Stone." Jira called out. The dragons jumped, but Ripto smiled inwardly. But the element of surprise didn't last long; Scott stepped towards Jira and pointed his map at the faun's furry throat as if it were a sword. "We already know the way. We don't need a vile creature like you leading us to a place we can already go." he said venomously. Jira said nothing as she snatched the map from him and unraveled it, but a smile spread on her lips as she studied it. 

"That map is a fake. What you're really heading towards is a deathtrap that no one was ever able to escape from." she said as she handed the map back to Scott. The bronze dragon looked down as if saying Jira couldn't be serious. Jira raised an eyebrow. "Where exactly did you get that map?" Scott refused to say anything, but Jira was able to read his mind like an open book. She laughed, which was a mocking sound to their ears.   
  
"You silly dragons are going to get yourselves killed if you follow directions given by the Mystic Mountain fauns! A race so secretive as us tends to give false directions on purpose for the sake of plurging our land of meddling strangers. If you had followed this map all the way to the marking, you would found yourself trapped in a place where sentries can easily let loose falling rocks to ground you all into paste." The mountain faun watched the group fall into a dead silence. She smiled.  
  
"Not to worry. I'll be sure to steer you on the right track. By tomorrow morning, we'll be heading in the right direction to the Balance Stone and the revered Robin of the Mystic Mountains!" With that, the group settled back down, hopefully to rest up for tomorrow. The three new dragon partners fell asleep quickly, with Ripto and Snowflake falling asleep afterwards chatting about what lay ahead. Everyone had a sense of security now that they knew they were heading the right way.  
  
All except for Spyro; his purple eyes were locked onto Jira's form now keeping watch at the cave's entrance. Smoke trailed from his nostrils as he remembered the tone of voice that Jira had when she was talking about steering them in the right track. He watched Jira until his eyelids became too heavy and he fell asleep. However, there was one little thought in his mind, one that wouldn't waver from Spyro's mind.

  
_Jira's up to something, but I'm not sure what._  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
"Ahh...So this is the Mystic Mountain range..."  
  
After a half of night of marching underneath poor torch light, the horde of Changeling was finally there. The sand had turned into dirt underneath their feet, and everyone reveled in the feeling of cold loam beneath their toes. The rising sun, filling the world with warm colors of red and purple, illuminated the mountains. Everything was silent as they breathed in the fresh mountain air from the magic mountains.  
  
Changeling was speechless, but not because of the wonder. She was finally at the last of the crystals that had yet to be collected. The other three could wait; she could always pry the jewels off the reptile's dead bodies. Sleepily, Wart stumbled to her side, rubbing the sleep sand out of his eyes. Eledor followed suit, stepping slowly behind Wart like a loyal zombie. Changeling took no notice of the rhynoc as she turned to Wart.  


"Somewhere in those mountains, the final Gigas Crystal awaits its rightful owner to seize it before that scepter-toting fool, his girlfriend, and that purple lizard gets to it first. As the legend goes, only one that is quick of mind can claim the crystal." Changeling explained. '_Well, then Laigon certainly can't touch it!_' Wart thought to himself, a smile spreading to his lips.

"Wart, be prepared to climb those mountains!" Changeling said as she placed her cruel claws on his left shoulder Once again, Wart felt the ever-familiar feeling of his heart sinking. He turned to her, his eyes swirling with confusion. "WHAT!?! Why do I have to climb those mountains? You're capable of scaling those peaks yourself!"  
  
Normally, Wart would've been sent sailing backwards into the dirt by Changeling's quick claws, but she ignored his protests. She looked towards the mountains, watching their splendor being highlighted by the rising sun. "Legend has it that only people who are not residents of the Mystic Mountains can touch the Purple Gigas Crystal. My castle is in the most secluded area of those mountains, so I'm unable to touch it. I'll bring the army to a slower pace towards my castle, and you with three other slaves go and collect the Purple Gigas Crystal for me."  
  
Wart didn't know what to think. She was giving him the option to leave with three other slaves into a place unknown to grab a crystal for her to use incorrectly. He slowly backed away from her. "Make your decision now on whom you're taking, or else Laigon is coming with you!"  
  
"Eledor, Elora, and Nazza!" Wart blurted out almost instantly. After Laigon had nearly succeeded in killing both Eledor and him, he was reluctant to let the dragon come near him so soon. He remembered the sea serpent's cruel, beaked smile as he pointed a scimitar at Wart's throat. Eledor remembered, and she wordlessly thanked the mutated dragon for bringing her along. Changeling sighed in defeat.   
  
"Fine. I'll let you bring the brightly colored mongrel and that scantily clad goat. I think you a fool for not choosing one of the older slaves to go with you, but okay." She turned to walk to the horde, leaving Wart and Eledor alone on the mound. Wart watched Changeling go; words could not describe how confused he felt. Eledor felt the same way. She turned to Wart, and their eyes met.  
  
"Wart, do you think we'll find a way to get the Purple Gigas Crystal without Changeling nabbing it for herself?" Eledor said quietly for fear that being too loud would alert the others. Wart said nothing. He imagined Changeling with three of the Gigas Crystals; two was enough to give her enough power to blast a full-grown dragon into cinders. He saw it himself when the former Crimson Scales protested against going into the Rainforest of Mist...  
  
He slammed his tail down to the ground with a thump. "I don't know, but by my scales we'll find a way!"  
**  
~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
"...Your sister has been kidnapped."   
  
Grendor felt his knuckles turn white as he heard the sting of every word spoken by Bane. The sea dragon lowered his head in shame as he watched the rhynoc fume near him. He had taken his time to get to the rhynoc's house because he had spent all of his time spying on the army marching near the coast and also bringing Azura City into arms. Grendor looked up at him, his eyes ablaze with fury. "Who kidnapped them?"   
  
"A yellow sea serpent with two swords strapped to his chest and a green toad-like creature with wings that has obviously got his eye on your sister." Bane explained. He knew only what he saw through the sea dragon vessel as he was attacking it. Still, the descriptions hit Grendor home. He remembered the two reptiles that had questioned him several days ago on the whereabouts of Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto. The sea serpent had been glaring at him with utmost disgust, but the toadish dragon was very courteous. However, he had never guessed they would end up stealing his sister! Worst of all, one of them was infatuated with her!   
  
"I'm going to save her!" Grendor declared. He started to run towards the house, but a giant finned claw stopped him. "NO! You mustn't rush off towards that army and kill yourself! I saw the size of those forces, and you'll be captured or killed for sure."   
  
Grendor narrowed his eyes at the dragon. "What do you suppose I do? Do you want me to just sit here and twiddle my thumbs while my sister is at the hands of two thieves? She's my only sister, Bane! I can't just abandon her..." he cried. Grendor had the nerve to say that he could perform the super powerful spell on himself again like he did back in his last adventure with the dragon, but then the fairies wouldn't let him off easy like they did last time. Bane said nothing as he thought about the current situation. Then, he had an idea.   
  
"We need to alert the people of Avalar to be prepared for a war. Azura City may be protected from unwanted visitors, but what if Changeling decides to come back for her sea dragon machines?" Grendor shuddered at the thought of thousands of sleek machine ready for destruction, gliding towards the peaceful city of Azura...   
  
"You're right, Bane. But, why be prepared for a war? Changeling can't be as big of a threat as Ripto used to be, and that didn't cause a war..." Grendor trailed off. Bane shook his head sadly. "I've seen this happen before. Three times actually at my home. A hordeleader that looks harmless at first, but then ends up causing a full-scale war in which there is no retreat." Bane lowered his head sadly, his voice ringing out like a requiem bell.   
  
"Don't you see? Changeling's going to start the biggest war in the history of Avalar!"   
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
Hawk Mountain was a very forbidding place. The mountain, shaped thousands of years ago by unknown workers, was in the shape of a giant bird-like monster, with outstretched wings, head flung upward to the heavens, and a sharp beak with a rickety bridge hanging out of its mouth. Inside the head of the mountain, a large room about the size of Kraken's cave was inside, lined with purple glowing candles and sacred ornaments. In the very middle of the room, a fancy pedestal held a glowing purple crystal that was sought for by both Changeling and Snowflake's friends; the Purple Gigas Crystal.   
  
A female human watched the Purple Gigas Crystal with a devotion seen only in a Guardian. She was very tall, with long, black hair. Her eyes were dark violet and she wore a long, form fitting purple dress and tall but flat-footed boots. Her nails were long and painted purple, and to show her rank as a sorcerer she wore a dark purple amulet around her neck. Yes, she was none other then the mighty Robin, Guardian of the Purple Gigas Crystal and ruler of the Mystic Mountains. 

A frightened faun pattered into the room, fur still smoking. "Mistress Robin! There are dragons in the Mystic Mountains!" It was none other then one of the fauns that had been teasing Snowflake, Ripto, and Spyro's new friends. Patches of fur fell off of its body, and the sickening sweet smell of burning fur filled the room. Robin turned towards him, her eyes expressionless purple.   
  
"A dragon, you say? Well, that fulfills one of the steps towards the identity of the Purple Gigas Crystal holder. The visions I had today were strong, and they featured a dragon that I could hardly make out. But, the mind waves I received from him were amazing. Only the true holder could possess such cool-headedness, a heart of gold, and a mind that could outwit the fox." Robin described to the faun, her purple dress swirling with each step. The faun narrowed its eyes in thought.

"Well, there were five dragons in that group, including a small ugly one without wings that carried a scepter." Robin stopped, her foot hovering over the next step. She slowly turned to the faun, her eyes now black with fury. "Ripto's here in my mountains! Ah, the nerve of that little lizard! How dare he pollute my fair mountains with his evil?" Shards of purple crystal went flying as she kicked a sacred statue of herself, even though the fauns had made that out of solid crystal that a diamond axe would be unable to break. The faun backed away nervously; Robin rarely got angry, but when she did, it was for good reason.  
  
"But what harm could he do? He wasn't even able to take over the Mystic Marsh downwind!" he cried, his raspy voice full of terror. Robin seized the faun's throat, and tightened it.  
  
"I know that, but if he can get into my mountains, then that Changeling girl can too! I will not abide to her plans of stealing the very thing I have to guard!" She stopped suddenly in thought, and then quickly dropped the faun. The quivering bundle of fur gasped in sweet amounts of air. Robin rubbed her chin in thought. "Although, if Ripto and Changeling happen to cross paths with the Outlaws of the Balance, then our problems will be solved!"

"The...Outlaws of the Balance, Mistress?" he asked. The Outlaws of the Balance were a widely feared band of outlaws consisting of fauns, humans, and dragons that were both powerful in Mystic Mountain magic and had a hatred for the Purple Gigas Crystal. They were famous because time and time again they would try to murder Robin so that their leader could rule all of the Mystic Mountains. Robin smiled as she casually picked rock shards out of her boot.

"Yes, the Outlaws of the Balance. Since they're so into power, Changeling and Ripto won't be able to step three feet into my mountains before those murderers ambush them. Considering how much of an ego their leader possesses, I shouldn't have to worry. All I need to be worrying about is the fate of my true Gigas holder." She stepped closer to the Purple Gigas Crystal until she was close enough to feel the power radiate off its crystal face. As she did so, she pulled out a flyer from within her robe. It was a Wanted Ad, and a picture of the Outlaws' leader was on the front.  
  
"Here. Use this to identify the leader. When this whole Changeling ordeal is over, you'll be able to make yourself one rich faun!" Robin handed the Wanted Ad to the faun. After that, she turned his back to him, her signal that the conversation had ended. The scorched Mystic Mountain resident looked down at the picture and admired the price on the Outlaws' leader's head.  
  
Had the faun had been one of members in Snowflake's group, he would've noticed that the picture on the Wanted Ad was that of Jira's...  
  
  
**~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~ **  
  
End of Chapter 9.

Yeah, sorry this took so long. Once again, Writer's Block seized my mind and kept me from continuing this for a while.  
  
Remember to review, okay? I need your thoughts on this!   



	10. The Outlaws of the Balance

The Realms of Chaos   
  
Chapter 10: Outlaws of the Balance  
  
Rating: A very high PG. It's too high for PG, but it's not so bad that it needs a PG-13 rating. What would make the rating go up is if:  
A) One of the characters launches into a cursing fit.  
B) Someone suffers a very violent death

Author's Notes: Think of the fancharacter submission thing as a privilege, not some way to mold the story into your liking. I'm getting some creators of fancharacters that are being a bit too pushy with the characters. Some of them even want their characters to replace the roles of Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto! Don't like the way I write my story? Write your own! The Realms of Chaos is my creation, and it goes the way I want it to go! In fact, all of the fancharacters can be easily replaced with one of my original characters just as easily, and I have the nerve to do so with some of you ungrateful types...

* * *

****

It was now morning in the Mystic Mountains. The sun was once again rising in the East, lighting the mountains around them with a heavenly glow. Birds started to stir from their sleep to call forth their greetings to the rising sun. The scene was picture perfect; the type that any photographer would die to see.

Jira took a deep breath of the mountain air as she watched her companions wake up one by one. Ripto and Snowflake were the first ones to wake up, and then Spyro, Spyretta, and Spyrius after that. Scott was still slumbering peacefully near the fire, his bronze scales absorbing the heat, but she could sense him stirring slightly. With a cheerful smile, the faun padded to the fire and conjured food for them to eat. She didn't notice the conversation that Spyro, Snowflake, and Ripto were conversing quietly just a few feet away from the fire.

"I don't trust that Jira. I know she's up to something!" Spyro said to Snowflake and Ripto. The white dragon exchanged glances with the cloaked dinosaur, both of them not knowing what to think of their new companion. Ripto rolled his eyes at Spyro.

"Please, Dragon. Just because she worked for me during our first adventure against each other doesn't make her a bad guy. Sure, she has powerful mind magic capable of making anyone senseless with a thought. She could probably be reading our minds right now..."

"You're not making the situation any better, Ripto." Snowflake said as she popped a piece of bacon into her mouth. She chewed slowly as she watched Spyrius, Spyretta, and Scott converse with Jira about the map. Every question that one of the new travelers shot to Jira was answered with the same "The map is a fake" statement.

"Did you hear the tone of voice when she said the map was a fake? You could tell that she was lying..."

"Snowflake! Why are you taking the dragon's side?" Ripto pleaded, slightly taken back by the way Snowflake was supporting Spyro's theory. At this time, Scott, Spyrius, and Spyretta were done talking to Jira and were watching the three reptiles fight on the matter. Spyro and Snowflake still supported the idea that Jira was not to be trusted, while Ripto thought that they were just being biased just because Jira used to work for them. The mountain faun seemed to have timed her approach, for Ripto was about to send a fireball at Spyro's way when she trotted up to them.

"Good news, my fellow travelers! I'm going to take you through a shortcut that will let you be at the fortress of the Purple Gigas Crystal by tomorrow morning! How does that sound?" The three new team members gave a whoop for joy, Ripto gave Spyro a smug smile, and Spyro and Snowflake gave Jira skeptical looks.   
  
"That sounds great, my loyal subject. In fact, why don't we start now before the purple demon decides to change the minds of our other companions!" Ripto said cheerfully. He then shot a glare at Spyro to emphasize on his words. But instead of cowering or fleeing in terror like Ripto's desired results would be, Spyro merely looked down at the Blue Gigas Crystal hanging from his neck in indifference. As Spyrius and his sister extinguished the flames, Spyro gave a snide comment to Snowflake.

"Something tells me that lizard boy is jealous. He probably thinks I'm moving in on you." Spyro said rather tartly. Snowflake said nothing, but inside of her, her heart leaped. '_Well, that confirms it. Ripto definitely has a crush on me. And here I was thinking that he would never go to first base with a dragon.'_ Snowflake thought to herself in her mind as Jira led them out of the cave.

They walked from one mountain to the next by means of both natural and artificial bridges, which contributed to bruises on the lizards' unprotected feet. Snowflake trailed in the back, looking down at the GCT in front of her. The machine vibrated in her claws as it tracked a Gigas Crystal, but luckily Jira paid no heed to the bleeps and bloops. The map showed only a little crystal icon among a cluster of upside down V's, so Snowflake really had no idea whether Jira was leading them to the jewel or to an ambush. Ripto and Spyro glanced back at her almost in unison as she tried desperately to figure out where Jira was really going.

"Well, we're almost here!" Jira announced to her followers. Spyrius, Scott, and Spyretta gave hoots of joy, while Spyro, Snowflake, and Ripto remained suspiciously silent. Snowflake raised an eyebrow to the faun.   
  
"I thought you said that we'd be at the Gigas Crystal by tomorrow morning? It's barely even noon as it is!" Snowflake asked the mountain faun. Jira gave a laugh, her shaggy bushel of hair falling across her shoulders. She then signaled the travelers to stop with a wave of her furry hand. She slowly turned her head to Snowflake, and even Ripto could see a dangerous twinkle in her eyes.

"I don't mean the crystal, dragon. I mean my fortress." She stepped closer to Snowflake until her little deer-like nose was almost pressed to Snowflake's rounded dragonish snout. Without a word, the GCT was snatched from Snowflake's hands by an unseen force and was held up to the dragon maiden.

"What's this?"

Snowflake tried hard to smile at Jira, but instead all she could manage was a rather suspicious-looking smirk. "It's the Gigas Crystal Tracker. The Professor gave it to me to help us track down the Gigas Crystals."

"A Gigas Crystals Tracker? Sounds interesting. Of course, I already know the way to the Purple Crystal..."

The mountain faun narrowed her eyes on the device, and suddenly the same machine that the moleish Professor had spent ten whole days to create with his bare hands snapped in two. Snowflake's companions gasped as the pieces of the once proud device fell next to Jira's feet. Crunch! A heavy cloven hoof stepped on the shards of metal.

"And we don't need some earth chewer's weak devices to get us there!" Jira's tone of voice suddenly changed from the peaceful calm to one of suppressed anger. She stomped on the jagged pieces again and again until nothing was left of the GCT save for a pathetic pile of scraps. The entire group fell silent at Jira's display of anger. None of them had the sense to speak until one of them summoned enough courage to.

"Wait, why would a mountain faun need a fortress?" Spyrius inquired. Again, Jira smiled. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, and Spyrius fell to the ground in a senseless leap.

"Simple. The leader of the Outlaws of the Balance needs to have some kind of base to keep her legion of cutthroats busy in." Spyro screamed a battle cry and launched himself horns-first at the mountain faun. Jira was quicker. Spyro instantly became motionless, his helpless body floating in mid-air just inches from Jira's hide. She held him at eye-level. Spyro spat at her face.  
  
"You tricked us! I knew you weren't taking us to the Gigas Crystal!" With a snap of her furry fingers, Spyro fell to the ground and didn't get up again. Scott and Spyretta succumbed to the same end when they ran forward to help the purple hero.

"Jira, what's the meaning of this? I thought you were loyal to me!" Ripto whined. The dangerous mountain-climber stepped closer to him. Snowflake screamed wordlessly and tried to rise to protect him when she felt as if ropes bound her. The white dragon struggled against nothing as Jira backed Ripto into the stony wall of the mountain they were climbing on. The Riptoc whipped out his scepter, but Jira paid no heed to it. Suddenly, Ripto was lifted off his feet by that same invisible force Jira commanded and was held at eye level to her. She shook him with her psychic power as she shouted to him.  
  
"Loyal? Why would I be loyal to a stuck-up, egotistical, red-scaled, no-good, son of a skink!" Despite her position, Snowflake found herself wondering what Spyro would say he was conscious enough to hear that insult.

"You have no idea how long I waited in the Mystic Marshes for your recognition. You have no idea how easy world conquest could've been performed had you listened to my plans to concentrate all the biggest weapons on the area that Spyro was currently occupying. Did you listen to a single word I said! NO! Let's spread all the troops out and attack the places evenly! Let's do this the sportmanshippy way!"

Jira threw Ripto down with all the force she could muster. The lizard fell to the stony floor, cracking the back of his head against rock. His vision swam with four images of a murderous faun standing above him. She pressed one of her hooves against his stomach. "Well, I have just the nerve to cut the end of your life right here. I guess breaking a few ribs won't harm a big, strong leader like you!"  
  
"NOOOO!" Snowflake broke the bonds of Jira's spell, ran forward, and tackled the faun. The traitor didn't see it coming. Fur and scales blended together as the two women fought against each other. As they thought, Ripto watched with the last of his strength, a hand placed over the bleeding wound on the back of his head. Of course, fighting on a somewhat narrow path that ran next to a cliff that was over a thousand feet high above the ground wasn't a very safe choice, and soon Snowflake found herself with her head dangling over a thousand foot drop. Jira wiped some blood from her mouth.

"You fight well for a dragon, girl. As much as I want to drop you and your annoying friends to their doom, every intruder of the Mystic Mountains must be brought alive to my fortress. And if you didn't have to open your big mouth and find a fault in my plans, your little group of scaly freaks would've made it to my fortress without a fight." Jira said. She climbed off the dragon's body and let her rise into a sitting position.

"Of course, now I'm going to have to do it the hard way now. Goodnight, Snowflake Laterose!"  
  
Suddenly, just like last time, the world went black. Only this time, Snowflake's last thought wasn't that of terror, but one that was filled with the bitter sense of betrayal...

****

* * *

"Tell me again why you dragged me out here, Wartface?"  
  
Wart pretended not to hear Nazza's comment as they cooked a rather meager breakfast over a fire just as the sun was moving slowly towards its noon position. They had been marching since Changeling had forced them to sometime after Wart made his decision to bring Eledor, Elora, and Nazza with him to grab the Purple Gigas Crystal for their master Changeling. After a day and half a night of rock-climbing, the troop had fallen asleep underneath a protective barrier put up by both faun and rhynoc. Without lighting a fire to reveal their position, the team members had used each other's bodies as their only heat source.

Nazza and Elora weren't pleased with their new position. Marching over rocks and always keeping one eye over their shoulders in case of any marauders didn't seem much of a step up from being whipped by Laigon while being fed scraps unless the Crimson Scales or Wart brought them food. Eledor, on the other hand, didn't want to stay behind while those lusty male rhynocs were around in the horde to hurt her. Besides, she enjoyed Wart's company much better then anyone else in the horde.

"Look, it was a lot better idea to bring you, Elora, and Eledor with me then some random shmoes from Changeling's horde. After all, you three hate her as much as me, not like those overly loyal lapdogs called lizardmen." Wart stated plainly as he took a bite out of some still cold stew made out of fish and leftover meat. Elora nodded silently as she took a bite out of her breakfast; even Nazza could see Elora's coat get shinier and meat return to her bones.

"Still, aren't these mountains full of crazed psychic freakos that are liable to jump us at any minute?" Nazza retorted. The blue wolf glanced around his surroundings every five seconds as if a rock or a twig would suddenly turn into a yawning abyss that would swallow them all. Wart said nothing, but he felt a shiver crawl up his spine. Nazza had a point; this place was too quiet. A cold wind blew, as if whispering that their fears were becoming reality.

"We need to get moving." Wart commanded, partly because he found comfort in hearing his own voice in the silence of this haunted mountain range. The others agreed. Nothing seemed better then getting out of the strange land that had currently engulfed them.   
  
"Really? That's a shame. We really want you to stick around more..." A mountain faun materialized out of the stark wasteland behind Wart's back. A shiver went up the twisted dragon's spine as he felt the icy cold touch of pure steel behind his back. He felt bloodless lips press to his ear.

"Make one move Ugly, and you'll be breathing out of your back from now on." Wart took heed of the faun's warning as he saw his friends being bound before him by a group that consisted of humans, dragons, and a few renegade monks from Colossus. Nazza had lashed out with his teeth and claws only to be overpowered by numbers. Eledor had even given two of the intruders black eyes before she too fell to the attacks. Wart made a growl to his capturer.   
  
"What did we do to deserve this kind of welcome? We have no riches, no food besides overly salted swill, and none of us are royal in blood!" Wart shouted. He was partially lying, for Elora was very well known throughout all of Avalar and was often considered a princess among her people. Luckily, Laigon's abuse on her body gave her a disguise of sorts, as none of the fauns' lackeys took any notice of her as they brought out ropes to bind her with. He forgot the knife in his back when he saw his friends being tied up like pigs ready for a Hawaiian luau. He hissed, his voice resembling an angry viper. How dare they hurt his only friends. He took a step, but then he felt the dagger dig deep enough into his back to draw blood. Wart's eyes closed; his will power must overpower whatever his heart says for now.

"You're trespassers, and trespassers must be brought to Jira the Outlaw. Oh, how big a promotion Fenre will get!" The faun, who Wart assumed was named Fenre, hissed delightfully. '_Outlaw? Oh Rhynocs, he's an Outlaw of the Balance! Why am I always the one suffering from the bad luck?_' Wart thought to himself.

"Yes, oh yes. Jira will love to have the royal boot-licker of Changeling's to bend to her will." Wart winced at the insult but said nothing as Fenre ordered some rather grimy-looking human males to drag Nazza, Eledor, and Elora closer to him. There was a muffled whine when Nazza's captor dragged his body over a jutting piece of rock. The Outlaws of the Balance paid no heed to any cries of pain from their bounty.

Rope dug into Wart's painful blemishes, and the captors paid no heed to his scars as they bound his fragile wings. He was thrown to the ground just inches from Fenre's hooves. It felt like deja vu to Wart; Fenre reminded him somewhat of Changeling when she was in an abusive mood. He always knew what to do in this position, so he just buried his snout into the dirt to reduce the swelling as Fenre glowered down at him.

"I hope you had a good rest, because we're not making the trip easy for any of you!" And with those words, the four misguided creatures found themselves half-led, half-dragged to their new destination, unsure of what their fates will be.

****

* * *

"See? What did I tell you? But did you listen? Noooo..."   
  
Spyro was making an ass of himself to Ripto as Jira's goons dragged them closer to the Outlaws' settlement that was carved into the mountain face. Each step was more jarring to the bones then the last, especially with Ripto's new head wound. The mountain fauns seemed to know how to make a hike rough for their captured bounty for they seemed to make each hoof step kick up a flying shard of sharp rock at the heroes' feet.

Snowflake flinched as she felt stone cut through her scales, cloaking her feet with a thin stream of blood. Ripto and Spyro didn't look much better, considering the bruises Jira gave them beforehand. Ripto gave her an apologetic look before looking straight ahead. Snowflake stole a glance from a watch that Eledor had given her shortly before her capture and didn't seem surprised at the fact it read 3:45 p.m.  
  
Jira remained the icy female that she always was, but she seemed so confident that her plan would be a success that Ripto seemed nonegotistical in comparison. Her sly smile, her way of walking superiorly in front of them, and her cruel eyes glaring down at her prizes could only be compared to one person; Changeling herself.   
  
"We're here, my companions. My headquarters." Jira said rather icily as they stopped at a rather imposing structure. It was carved in a way so that people would mistake the base as ancient ruins long forgotten by civilization. Everything seemed to be crumbling into dust, from the irregular slants in the rock that served as windows to the large stalmites that framed a large hole in the mountain that served as the main entrance. Sounds of people doing menial labor echoed faintly inside.  
  
"I can tell that you're impressed. That witch Robin has no idea that her worst enemies are hiding right under her nose. She has to create a law that all ancient buildings must not be tampered with. Well, that's her loss, isn't it?" The six reptiles said nothing, but Jira could hear their rather venomous thoughts as if they spoke them out loud. Without another word, they entered the fortress.   
  
In a mass contrast of the crumbling outside, the interior of the base consisted of the finest technology the Outlaws of the Balance could come by. Mountain rock became smooth marble tiles beneath their feet as they examined all the gadgets that a mixture of human, dragon, rhynoc, and faun used to map out the entire world of Avalar underneath their fingertips. Typing, bleeps, and bloops filled the base as many of Jira's troops plotted out the location of everything in Avalar. Spyro stole a look from one of the monitors, and saw a large mass of red dots condensing through the mountains. His eyes narrowed; even though he had no idea how he could've guessed, he knew that those dots signified Changeling's army.

"With the combination of our psychic power and this wonderful technology, we know more about Avalar then anything else on the Earth!" Jira announced. She led them down a hallway away from all the action, where the tiles faded away into mountain rock again and the spectacular florescent lighting became swinging light bulbs on wires. The sound of water dripping filled the air, making the place seem more like a cave then ever.

"Now, to take you to where we place all the intruders of the Mystic Mountains before they carry out their tasks..."

"Fenre's got some new intruders, Jira!" An energetic faun nearly collided into Jira as he scrambled across the rock. Jira took no notice of it, and was very ecstatic about the news about new victims. She quickly commanded him to bring them forward. Fenre obliged with ease and soon some nameless humans started dragging in four rather bruised and battered creatures. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake recognized them immediately.

"You again? Why must you keep following us?" Sure enough, when Fenre captured Wart, Eledor, Nazza, and Elora, they were closer to the Outlaws of the Balance base then Jira was. Now, the three Gigas Crystal-collecting heroes were face-to-face with Changeling's second-in-commander, the wolf that abandoned them at the Ruins of Mist, the rhynoc that Wart and Laigon captured in Kraken's Cave, and Spyro's main squeeze that had waved them off when they had left for the quest many weeks ago. For a while, none of the teams spoke. Scott was the first to speak.

"Elora? What are you doing here in the midst of these foul creatures?" Scott asked to the disheveled faun. Wart snorted indignantly despite his position.

"I have you know that if you knew why we were in these mountains, you wouldn't call us foul."

"Hah! Everything you do is foul, you retrid pile of Riptoc cra-"

"Snowflake! You shouldn't call Wart names!"

"No! Wart is controlling Eledor like he's controlling Nazza!"

"SHUT UP!" Jira's voice rang true through the squabbling group of bound creatures, stopping a fight before it even started. Suddenly the arguments ceased, which was a good thing too. Most of the bound creatures looked ready to burst from their ropes and draw blood. She stepped in-between her bounty and Fenre's, surveying the creatures with narrowed eyes.  
  
"I'm going to tell you why all ten of you are here. Unless you want me to knock you unconscious again..." The teams quickly made noises of disapproval.

"Good. Now, as you all probably know, the Purple Gigas Crystal is found within these mountains, and I bet you know that a Gigas Guardian by the name of Robin is guarding it. For as long as that crystal has been there, Robin has been the ruler of the creatures of the Mystic Mountains. She uses the crystal to signal authority and is always the one to pass laws. We of the Outlaws of the Balance plan to stop her reign of bigotry once and for all."  
  
She stopped for a moment to see if her explanation was registering in her audience. She then continued. "The reason why you're here is because of the Crystal's prophecy. Just as that Green Gigas Guardian rang that only mage blood can be the correct holder of his crystal, and the Blue Gigas Guardian cried that only true heroes can touch his treasure, Robin's Crystal has some special rules to follow. Only a dragon born from outside the mountains with slyness, calm thinking, and a heart of gold can be the crystal's true holder. That's where you all come in."

"But I'm not a dragon..." Ripto choked out. Nazza, Eledor, and Elora said the same thing. Jira ignored their complaints.

"Of course you four aren't dragons! But you're cavorting with dragons in a way that I am disgusted to see. Some of you are even falling for dragons; a low act that even the most irate commander would commit! And I can't abide dragon lovers!" Jira's words struck home as she broadcasted her disgust into the minds of those responsible. Ripto flinched, Elora lowered her head in shame, and Eledor couldn't help but feel bad.

"That is why you're with the dragons to do the same tasks as the dragons, or else I cut your throats like the slimy dogs that you are."

"If you knew exactly what creatures filled the spots, why isn't the Gigas Crystal in your hands?" Spyretta commented. Jira pretended to be more interested in the color of her nails then the question the dragon female asked. The tone of her voice chilled their spines when she said, "Simple. Every dragon I've sent to Robin's hideaway is dead." Her statement alone was enough to rile up every single one of the bound creatures.

"I don't care if I'm a dragon or not, I'm not working for you! I'm not throwing my life away!" Wart hissed. Everyone else agreed with him. Spyrius and Spyretta hissed negative comments to the faun, Snowflake and Spyro shouted insults and threats, Scott threatened to run her through, and the non-dragons supported their friends in the din. Fenre, forgotten by the uproar, silently slipped away from the fight as all the captives' voices rose to a frightening level. The faun couldn't take it anymore; with a shout, she used her psychic powers to launch a bruising blow at the captured creatures. That stopped the complaints. None of the ice was in her voice when she spoke again.

"Well, if that's how you ten like it, then I have no choice but to throw you into your cages. Guards!" Five burly rhynocs materialized out of nowhere from her calls. They scooped up the robes tied to them and slowly dragged them down the hallway into a darker and damper part of the mountain base. The ten heroes were reluctantly led to their pens, which were nothing more then simple holes in the walls with no windows and very strong steel bars creating the door. 

"By morning, we'll see how gung-ho you are about not following orders!" Jira's last words echoed through their minds as she left them to their own devices. With that thought on their heads, the misguided creatures were trapped with no hope of ever escaping...

****

* * *

Day faded into night, and no hope was given to the group of ill-fated heroes. The pens were arranged two to a cell, with Snowflake and Ripto, Spyro and Scott, Nazza and Elora, Wart and Eledor, and Spyrius and Spyretta all paired up together with only a few rocks and each other to keep them company. Conversation had carried on, although lightly, throughout the day until one by one they had fallen into a state of miserable silence. Jira had ordered them not to eat until she picked them up in the morning to climb up to Robin's roost, for she believed that the hungrier they were, the easier they would comply with her mission. Stomachs growled, and slowly hope slipped through their fingers.

A clock in the middle of the room struck midnight. None of the captured creatures cared one bit, except for Snowflake. With a flap of her powerful wings, the female launched herself shoulder-first into the bars for the twenty-fifth time in a row. Clang! Scales hit metal with no effect. Ripto sighed in defeat as Snowflake nursed her swelling purpling arm.

"Let's face it, Snowflake. We can't get out of here. Spyro's tried burning the bars, Nazza's tried biting the bars. Hell, I tried my strongest magic on these bars! Nothing can open them!"

"That's not stopping me from trying!" Snowflake said, and once again she launched herself at the bars. She tried everything, from biting to scratching to kicking the bars with her feet. Ripto watched her pathetic display until all her energy was spent and she flopped to the floor, her body covered in self-inflicted bruises.

Snowflake made a whimpering noise like an abused puppy. "It's no use. We're going to die, and it's all my fault. We can't get out of here."

"Actually, I think that Eledor and me can open these." Wart stated rather plainly from across the room. Snowflake lifted her head, her tongue wanting to lash out at him but couldn't find the strength to. Wart's bumpy tail was slung over a bar near the lock, and he was slowly twiddling the tip inside the lock's mechanisms. Every once in a while, he made growls of disapproval as his tail found a new obstacle to overcome.  
  
"What do you know, you freak?" Snowflake heard Spyro's voice call out. Wart ignored him, but instead kept hearing the clicks inside the lock. There was a snap, and a smile spread to his lips. 

"You were right, Eledor. This isn't an ordinary lock; these locks control some sort of magic barrier that make these bars unbreakable except those who have the keys. No wonder none of Ripto's magic was able to work." He pulled his tail out of the keyhole, rubbing it thoughtfully.

"Well, I've broken enough wards to make these bars normal again. Eledor, do your stuff!"   
  
Eledor stepped forward and pointed her wand to the door. Wart scooted out of her way in a hurry. Silvery chants filled the air as the rhynoc recited runes of breaking and destruction. With a sparkle, her wand fired a beam on concentrated magic. Bam! The resulting blast sent Eledor flying backwards into a rather soft warty landing pillow. With a clang, the barred door slid across the rock floor to a stop. The rhynoc sat dumbfounded until she heard a rather hurt voice behind her.  
  
"Well, that was smart of me to stand behind you..." Wart said sarcastically as he rose. Eledor helped him up, but Wart denied that there was any bruising. Eledor jumped out of the cell and peered around. Nothing but the sound of cavern water dripping and her companions breathing was heard.

"Do you think they suspect anything's amiss?"

Wart was already undoing Spyretta and Spyrius' lock. "With all the racket Snowflake and Spyro were creating, you'd have to pull a bulldozer through this place before they notice anything's amiss!" He said as the barrier became unlocked and Eledor was able to destroy it. With a repetition of unlocking and blasting doors, all ten of the heroes were free. The group chattered excitedly about the escape, and most of them saw Wart in a new light. Snowflake shook his hand in a form of a friendly salute.

"For Changeling's lackey, you sure came in handy, Warty." Snowflake said.  
  
"One problem; how are we going to get out of here?" Scott said as he peered down the hallway. The cells had only one exit, and it was down the same hallway that led through the large control room that they all saw earlier. They knew that Jira just didn't make everyone retire to sleep in the wee hours of night; there had to be nightly guards. Spyro chuckled as he nudged his old friend in the shoulder as he walked past.

"It's easy; Eledor and Elora will create some barriers and we charge our way through this blasted place without stopping."  
  
"Spyro, that's reckless and dangerous! If we do that, Jira will keep hunting us until we're back into her custody!" Eledor shouted. Many of the others agreed, especially Ripto. They suggested many other methods of escape, from disguises to blasting a new way out of the mountain with Ripto and Eledor's magic. The mood was quickly spoiled when Wart interrupted.  
  
"Well, Spyro's idea is the only option we have." Wart's voice was now very somber. He tried to smile as he explained what had happened.

"Those barriers that I've unlocked had an alarm system hooked into them. When I opened them, Jira was notified." Suddenly, the others felt their blood turn to ice. Jira knew they had escaped; they were in big trouble. Snowflake, despite her depleted energy, had to be restrained to keep her from strangling Wart.

Without another word, Elora and Eledor began casting the barriers with their restorative magic. Runes and chants strung together as the females protected their friends from harm like Jira's unconscious spells or any of the others' weapons. The other eight stood together so tightly that most of them felt claustrophobic as a magic shield spread around them. Just as the reflective barrier was finished, they could hear the patter of several faun hooves running towards their position. Just as Fenre's face appeared in the hallway, Spyro gave his word.  
  
"CHARGE!" With Spyro in the lead, the band of heroes charged with as much energy as they could muster. Fenre gave a pathetic squeak before he was trampled underneath their feet. Elora gave a wordless cry of joy; the barrier was acting like their own battering ram. Confused fauns that happened to be standing in their way were knocked aside like toys.

The team slowed as stamina slipped from their bodies. Snowflake, who was already being helped by Spyretta due to her injuries, fell behind as her exhausted body fell in a useless heap to the floor. She watched the others run ahead helplessly as she lay on the stony cold ground of the Outlaws' headquarters. She was so tired that she didn't even hear Jira stepping behind her.  
  
"You are the most annoying dragon that I have ever captured." Jira hissed. Snowflake didn't even move as she felt Jira pick her up by the scruff of her lizard like neck.

"I guess it won't make a difference if there's one less dragon in Avalar."

Jira flashed Snowflake her famous smile, and then placed her free hand onto Snowflake's chest. At her touch, an icy cold feeling spread through Snowflake's veins. The dragon screamed as she knew what spell Jira was performing; the elimination spell. Jira was killing her! She hopelessly struggled underneath her grasp, but to no avail. She knew that in less than one minute, the spell will take her last breath. She closed her eyes and let a tear drop fall to the ground. _'It isn't fair. I'm not supposed to die yet._' Snowflake thought to herself as the ice slowly spread to the final reaches of her body.

The ice suddenly melted from Snowflake's veins as Jira gave a sudden scream and dropped her to the floor. Snowflake looked up in surprise to see the faun batting away fire that was already spreading through her fur. Another fireball sailed into the faun's belly and ignited on impact. The dragon turned to see who was firing the fireballs. Her heart never felt lighter as she saw the very person she had expected to be there for her.  
  
"That's for betraying me, e_ver so loyal _Jira!" Ripto said as he stepped as heroically as he could manage to the burning faun. Jira didn't even have time to shout an insult before the fires spreading across her body silenced her forever. With a thump, Jira fell forward, leaving only the smell of burning fur in her wake. Snowflake couldn't pry her eyes from the burnt corpse as Ripto helped her to her feet. She tried to say something, but she found that she didn't even have enough strength to form words underneath her tongue. She cursed herself mentally for her stupidity of wasting all her energy on breaking an unbreakable door.

"Did you really think we'd leave you like that to be killed by that crazed faun? Come on, that purple pest and the others have cleared the way for us. We'll take it slowly the rest of the way." Without another word, Snowflake and Ripto walked down the hallways of the now deserted headquarters of the Outlaws of the Balance, leaving Jira to be buried by her own lackeys when they returned.

After all, the Purple Gigas Crystal was only a short walk away...

******

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**

End of Chapter 10

Do you want to know why this chapter took so long to write? A mixture of writer's block, STAR testing, and forgetfulness, that's what!

Let's just say that something bad happens in Chapter 11 that will probably throw a wrench in the hero's process, and it will also bring out Robin and the legendary Purple Gigas Crystal. I'm not saying anything beyond that, though.

Oh, and before anyone asks, the story ends at Chapter 15. I just figured it out. I plan Chapter 15 to be one of those grand finale chapters, though. So don't miss it!

Yes, I know Ripto is slowly becoming out-of-character. Before anyone asks, it's probably the fact that he's been hanging around the likes of Snowflake and Spyro for quite a few weeks.


	11. Robin, Keeper of the Purple Gigas

**The Realms of Chaos   
  
Chapter 11: Robin   
  
Rating: PG by definition.   
  
Author's Notes: Once again, I meant for the fancharacters as only a little gift. Come the later chapters, they'll be used sparingly. They won't take up a lot of space, not like this chapter. (Which is filled to the brim with fancharacters. =p)**

**Hmmm...I think it says somewhere in the rules that authors can't use other characters without acknowledging their creators, soooo...  
  
Disclaimer (by order of appearances):   
Spyro, Ripto, Professor, Elora, etc. are copyrighted to Universal now, sadly.   
Nazza is copyrighted by Nazza.   
Eledor is copyrighted by Power to the Wol/Scom: Evol Sidekick.  
Crystal and Dark are copyrighted by Kataiya-Rena.**

**Spyrius, Spyretta, and Syi are copyrighted by Redwalgrl.**

**Scott is copyrighted by Silvermoon.**

**Robin's looks are copyrighted by Robin. I, however, own her personality. She only gave me the looks to base the character off of.**

**looks back at the list Dang! That's a lot of fancharacters! Okay, no more fancharacter submissions from this point on! Understand? (The sequel to this won't have this many fancharacters.) Oh, and I own Snowflake, Changeling, Wart, Jira, Fenre, Bane, Moss, the Guardians, the Gigas Crystals, Laigon, Cobra, and the rest. =)  
**

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"Snowflake...Snowflake..."   
  
Someone was calling her name through the blackish-bluish fog in her mind. Snowflake cursed herself for letting herself fall into this state yet again. She had promised herself not to fall victim for such an attack after the Tyrusian Lizardmen nearly tore off her wing and leg. Why was she the damsel in distress in her party? She simply despised the stories of those lace-covered, prissy princesses that did nothing but swoon in the face of danger and fall victim to the oldest tricks in the book.

'That's it! If I can hear their voices, I can wake up!' she thought to herself. It took every ounce of will in her body, but soon her eyelids lifted open and the world became known to her.   
  
"She's alright!" the owner of the voice called. Snowflake screamed; Wart's bumpy face was hovering right above her. She tried to back away, but she found she didn't have the strength to. Snowflake gave an indignant snort as she lay on her back helplessly underneath the supervision of Changeling's Lab Pet. She heard Eledor's voice to her right.   
  
"I knew our magic and your herbs would work wonders. She didn't even sleep for the whole day like I expected her to!" Eledor said gleefully. That's when Snowflake noticed that it was indeed the middle of the afternoon. Once again, she cursed herself for falling victim to Jira. Eledor seemed to read her mind. "Don't feel bad; I haven't seen a person survive that kind of death spell until now."   
  
"The spell that Jira cast on you is none other then the Touch of Death spell." Elora started to explain as Snowflake sat up and drank the very strong herbal tea that Wart handed her. "What it does is to slowly spread magical ice throughout your body; enough to badly pain you but not enough to severely kill you. It spreads through your body, bringing agony and torture, until the ice finally reaches your heart and punctures it." Snowflake stopped drinking by this point, her hands trembling. She didn't realize how close she was from dying. "That's why it took so long to revive you; we basically had to keep heating your body until you returned to normal."   
  
For once in several days, Snowflake truly smiled. She looked around her at the faces of her comrades. These people really were her friends and not just travel partners forcing her to collect some magic-infused gems to save a world that she wasn't even born in. She saw Spyro, Ripto, Wart, Eledor, Elora watch her intently, each of them wondering if she was really all right. Just then, Snowflake noticed the absence of the three dragons that she and her two original partners saved, along with the disappearance of a certain blue wolf that happened to betray them in a rainforest. Where were they?   
  
"Hey, where's Spyrius, Spyretta, Nazza and Scott?" Snowflake asked to Wart. Wart was applying some kind of salve to her badly cut feet for the sores to heal faster. He looked into her eyes, his claws still dripping with minty-smelling goo.   
  
"I sent them away. A group of ten is easier to track then a group of six, and with the Outlaws of the Balance out for our blood, it's safe not to take chances...." Wart stated plainly. He bent down to once again rub the salve on her wounds. What he didn't expect is for Snowflake to swing her feet swiftly, kicking Changeling's lackey in the chin. Wart sat up, momentarily stunned by the sudden assault. Snowflake pointed a claw at his throat.   
  
"I know what you're planning! You want the Outlaws of the Balance to kill the people not working for Changeling so that your furry mistress can grab the Purple Gigas Crystal for herself! It's the old 'Divide and Conquer' routine, and I'm surprised my friends didn't see it before!" Snowflake hissed at Wart, who sat there and rubbed his chin in pain. He stood up and wiped the remaining traces of his salve on his bumpy scales.   
  
"No, I didn't! I sent them away just this morning on a route that ends at the foot of Robin's mountain. When we hike over there, they'll be waiting for us safe and sound!" Wart said calmly. Snowflake shot Wart a death glare. If her feet weren't covered in salve, or the fact that she was very drowsy, she would've stood up.   
  
"Why should we trust you, you little winged toad?" She asked. Spyro, exasperated by Snowflake's shouting, cried out, "Snowflake, drop it!" but the snow-white dragon ignored it. Wart, upon hearing this very annoying insult, began to shout back at her.   
  
"I didn't say you had to trust me. I want you to believe that I'm not going to stab you in the back for once! Quit calling me Toad!" Wart screamed at her with an unusual vigor. The white dragon seemed shocked at Wart's sudden outburst. She sat there, staring at the now fuming wart-covered creature. Eledor, Elora, Spyro, and Ripto each looked to each other, but they couldn't find the strength to help the situation in front of them. All of them silently decided to simply wait and see what happened between these two.   
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the Lab Pet sighed and then said calmly, "I know for a fact that I'm not good-looking, I'm the lackey of Changeling, and that I sometimes follow her every command. In fact, I used to be what you imagine me to be; a cruel follower of Changeling that delighted in seeing a creature suffer. That is, until I started to feel their pain also. Changeling promised me power, and yet she beats me to a blood pulp when she feels like it. She promised me beauty, and yet she mutated me with unknown chemicals and made me an ugly monster. She promised me fortune, and yet all I get to call my own is a sleeping bag and a bunch of scars on my back. I don't follow Changeling. I don't even like her! I'm tired of people assuming that I'm her little Lap Dog just because I look the part!"   
  
There was an awkward silence following his speech. Snowflake looked very ashamed of herself, looking down at her cut feet in defeat. Tears formed into her eyes, and sometimes a stray drop would fall to the stone ground. "I'm very sorry, Wart. I had no idea you suffered through so much. It's just that these last few weeks have been a living nightmare for me. Giant monsters, lizardmen, evil fauns, and sea serpents with curved swords chased us at every corner, and I was the first to label you as a bad guy. Forgive me?"   
  
"Yes, I forgive. I'm not one to hold a grudge, unless you happen to be a dark furred cat with a purple robe, a black cape, and a really nasty attitude!" The two of them shook hands, despite the fact that Wart's hands were still covered in strong-smelling salve. Snowflake took a moment to wipe her hands clean on her skirt. '_Man, just like back home I'm making a fool of myself here. I bet Spyro and Ripto think of me as the biggest clown in Avalar.' _she thought to herself, pretending to be concentrating on scrubbing her hands clean with the rather tattered cloth of her skirt.   
  
Her thoughts were interrupted when Elora stepped towards her, examining her just like she would when Snowflake was working for her those many weeks ago. "At least we know you're well. Your reflexes are quite polished." Elora said dryly, referring to the kick she had delivered to Wart's chin. At that comment, Snowflake's cheeks turned rosy with embarrassment. Elora always knew how to embarrass her, be it at work or in the middle of a large mountain range filled with bloodthirsty fauns.   
  
"Well, she's able to walk, insult, and kick without any signs of fatigue. Can we go now and get that annoying Purple Gigas Crystal before Changeling does?" Ripto asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as Shortstuff was for once!" Spyro exclaimed. Elora gave them both a look that clearly said "Wait until I'm finished checking our patient!"

After about a few minutes of reflex, sight, hearing, and muscle tests, Snowflake was allowed to rise to her feet. She gave her friends an uneasy smile as she stood up and tested her feet. "Well, it looks like we don't have a choice anymore in this. It's either do or die now, and the obstacle is the Purple Gigas Crystal."   
  
"Do or die. I've always liked living by those odds." Spyro said with a mischievous tinkle in his eye. _'Well I sure don't!' _Snowflake responded in her mind, but she chose to say nothing.   
  
Without another word, the mismatched group of dragons, Riptoc, faun, and rhynoc raced towards their one goal; the Purple Gigas Crystal.   
  


* * *

"Fenre find slayers of Jira! Fenre make fellow Outlaws proud!"   
  
The little skittish faun that had participated in the capture of Wart's group ran on the mountain trail, following the so-called "tracks" of the combined group of ten. He had four rhynocs following him, all of them finding the faun hard to keep up with. The truth was, the scratch marks that he saw on the ground were not the team's tracks at all, but instead was just the footprints of some drunken Outlaws of the Balance bringing back a couple sacks of booze for their companions to share from. Fenre didn't know about this; his determination to please the dead Jira muddled his sense of tracking. He kept both eyes on the ground, leaving his faun senses to guide him away from any pitfalls.   
  
"Looking for someone?" A voice called just in front of them. Fenre skidded to a halt, his eyes still down on the ground. He grinned a boyish grin as he looked up from the path to the stranger standing before him. It was a tall, lean female that reminded him of Jira. He did a little dance as he explained his predicament to the stranger, ignoring his friends' pleas to run away.   
  
"Yes, oh yes! Mistress Jira killed by white dragon and friends. They escape before Jira could use them to receive Balance Stone. Fenre trampled by them. It hurt much!" Fenre explained. When Snowflake and her friends had trampled Fenre back during their big escape, they had caused Fenre to lose quite a bit of his I.Q. His brain was now muddled and confused, constantly shifting through broken pieces of memory and intelligence. His only solid memory was that of a dead Jira lying in a pool of her own blood, and for some odd reason he knew more about Jira then his own self.   
  
At this point, the rhynocs had fled in terror. Fenre didn't notice, but instead waited for an answer from the purple-furred stranger in front of him. She stepped closer, revealing a purple robe, a black cape, and a cat-like demeanor. Had he not suffered from the fall, Fenre would've recognized his new guest as Changeling. However, in his current state, Fenre saw nothing wrong with the current situation he was in. Changeling smiled at the faun, fanged canines glistening.   
  
"Is all of this true?" Changeling asked with absolute interest in her voice. By now, she was a mere arm's length away from the faun. Fenre didn't sense any danger, even when he saw the claws Changeling's fingers possessed. "Yep! All Fenre said true!"   
  
"Good." With a swipe of her claws, she seized the faun by his shoulders. Fenre yelped as he found himself in a position that Wart often found himself in; staring bleakly into the slitted purple eyes of his captor as she held him tight by the shoulders. Her smile became one of malice and deceit. "A bright faun like you is bound to know everything I would need to know. Where's the Outlaws of the Balance's hideout? Where are Snowflake and the other's heading? Where's my lackey Wart?"

Fenre's eyes darted from side to side in search of a possible exit. Changeling squeezed harder, drawing blood. "Answer me!" She shouted.

Fenre started to whimper. "Fenre's hideout just front of here. The others head in direction of Robin Mountain. Wart be with them. Everything Fenre say true! Honest, honest!"  
  
Changeling took a few seconds to let the information sink in. _'So, Wart was able to gain the dragon's trust. For once, he did something useful...' _She started to walk in a direction that Fenre was unfamiliar of, carrying the faun with her. Soon, they stood face-to-face with a large horde parked on one of the large pathways winding through the mountain range. Without another word, she tossed Fenre to Laigon, who was chewing thoughtfully on the meat of a slave that had died that morning. The yellow sea serpent grabbed the squirming faun and smiled devilishly at his new victim.

"Use this creature to find yourself a whole bunch of new slaves for you to torture; slaves that call themselves the Outlaws of the Balance. They can fight back, so it would be best to bring some of my brutish dragon followers with you." Changeling explained. At the sound of new slaves, Laigon gave a whoop of joy. Some tortured creatures seated next to him groaned, for more slaves meant that the rations would only turn smaller. With the grace known to his people, Laigon shackled Fenre, ending the poor faun's revenge against the slayers of Jira before it even started.  
  
"But Mistress!" Laigon questioned when he remembered something she told him that morning. "We're going to Robin's Mountain! If I'm heading to the Outlaws of the Balance..."  
  
"You will meet us there. If we're not at the base of the mountain by the time you get there, you know the roads to my castle. Understand?" Laigon quickly nodded to his mistress. He knew that if you didn't understand, Changeling had her ways to make sure you never misunderstood her again. "Good. Just make sure that the Outlaws of the Balance are wiped off the map. Enslave them, kill them, rip their meat from their bones. I don't care how you do it, just do it quickly!"

Laigon quickly dashed off to the tents as fast as his lizard legs could take him, ready to summon anyone strong enough to help him on this quest. Changeling took one look at where he once stood and then started to walk away from the troop. No one questioned her; Changeling always liked thinking in the comfort of being alone. Only Fenre watched her, his dire confusion of her cruelty forming into large tears.

She kept walking until the din of the horde members became a low rumble. A stray wind blew, making her fur ruffle. Smiling to herself, she took out the Silver Gigas Crystal from her pouch and held it up to the afternoon sun. _'It all started with this one crystal, and soon I will have them all...'_

Suddenly, the image of a large monster appeared before her. It was a large, muscular dog that looked like someone bred the largest wolf on the face of Avalar with a Yeti, for it was almost as large as Grunge. It had a barrel-chested body, clawed feet, red eyes, and a mouth filled with jagged, yellow teeth. And yet, the monster had a look of pleading in its eyes. The creature also known as Squall, the Silver Gigas Guardian, gave a mournful howl before disappearing into thin air.

Changeling was undaunted by this. "You can cry all you want Squall, but I know that the crystals belong to me!" She tumbled the crystal once in her hand before putting it away. She began to walk back to her troops, but not before turning her head to the spot where Squall once stood for a final comeback.  
  
"And that's coming from the Silver Gigas Holder herself!"

* * *

Robin's Mountain reared its ugly head in front of the group of travelers just when the sun set into the west. It was just as Wart had described it, a hawk-shaped mountain that seemed to be shouting angrily to the heavens themselves. As soon as the rays of the sun disappeared, a cold wind blew past. Snowflake, born and raised in a frosty mountain, was unshaken by this wind. Her comrades, however, shivered and huddled their bodies together in an attempt to keep warm. 

"Hey guys!" Sure enough, Nazza and the three dragons that joined them in the Mystic Mountains came bounding up to them. They too looked like they were freezing, especially the dragon Spyrius, who kept blowing fire on his feet in order to keep them from freezing to the ground.

Wart looked upward to Hawk Mountain. "It looks like the only way up for some of us is by climbing that rope ladder right there." He swept his claw in the direction of the remains of the rickety bridge that hung out of the Hawk's beak in disrepair. It had once been a bridge that led to another proud mountain, but time had worn the crossway down to only its bare bones. Elora, Ripto, Eledor, and Nazza, not gifted with the ability to fly, gave one look at the ladder and each said, "Are you nuts?" to Wart.  
  
Snowflake crossed her arms. "Don't be such a baby, Ripto. I may be able to pull you out of a crevice in Winter Tundra, but flying several thousand feet into the air carrying you? I'd die of exhaustion!" Wart, Spyro, and the other three dragons made sounds of agreement. That didn't help matters. Soon the whole group was arguing about rockslides, the chances of falling, phobias of heights, and other such matters. Finally, Wart decided that while the flightless ones climbed, the dragons would follow them and catch them in case any such thing happens.   
  
"Once again, you create a great idea. Where do you come up with such plans, Wart?" Elora cried. Wart looked down at the ground, suddenly taking interest in the dead twig near his right foot. "I have no idea." was his only reply before the troop began to scale the mountain.

One by one, Elora, Nazza, Ripto, and Eledor grasped the wooden planks of the bridge and began to climb. Just when all of them were attached to the bridge and heading towards the top, Wart gave the signal for the dragons to launch into the air. Like graceful birds, the winged lizards gave mighty flaps of their leathery wings and began to follow the climbers at a reasonable pace, each of them keeping an eye on them. No one said a word as they kept to the grim task ahead of them; heading to the dizzy heights of Hawk Mountain.

Everything went fine until about halfway up. Ripto reached a claw onto a plank, only for the wood to give way underneath his hands. Forgetting Snowflake's warning of "don't look down", he watched the plank shatter off the mountain's wall and fall into a dark void. Ripto froze, the color draining from his skin. He clutched the ropes of the bridge in a death grip and refused to budge an inch. Eledor, Elora, and Nazza held on uneasily behind him.   
  
"Get moving, Shorty! If you don't, that Gigas Crystal is only going to fall into the wrong hands!" Nazza barked. Eledor and Elora agreed openly. Ripto swallowed the rising bile in his throat long enough to whimper,

"I...can't." Spyro, despite the situation, gave him a rather cruel smile as he hovered nearby like a large purple insect. For moments the four creatures rocked precautiously on the rope bridge, unable to move due to Ripto's panic attack. Finally, after what had seemed to be forever, Snowflake wrapped her arms around Ripto's waist and pried him off the wooden bridge.   
  
"Where would you be without me, Ripto?" Snowflake asked with a comforting grin on her face. Ripto peered downwards into the void.

He replied rather dryly, "Duh. I'd be discovered at the bottom of an abyss in Winter Tundra clutching my scepter in my dead, frozen arms. Of course, I'm wondering if this is any better!"

After that incident, nothing out of the ordinary happened during their climb. Elora, Eledor, and Nazza climbed and the dragons flew. Snowflake's wings got quite a workout carrying both herself and Ripto, but luckily the hardships of the last few weeks had made both their forms lighter then usual. Soon, they were at the top of the peak. Everyone either climbed or swooped into the mouth of the mountain eagle, ready to meet whatever monster lurked within.  
  
"It's about time you showed up. I was starting to think if that bridge was really stable enough." The group gaped with amazement. Here they expected some dank, smelly cave where a creature as horrifying as Grunge or Kraken resided, and instead they were greeted with a candle-lit place of beauty and wonder where a human sorceress resided. Robin was sitting pretty on a silken purple cushion amid some sacred purple gems carved in the shapes of ten creatures. Elora was the only one to notice that the carvings were none other then perfect figures of themselves, right down to the exact rips in her clothing. Robin took no heed at this. She rose and stepped over the carvings, approaching the group with hardened purple eyes.

"You creatures should be lucky. From what my magic tells me, one of you is the holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal." She swept her hand to the podium in the middle of the large, cave-sized room. Imbedded in the middle of the simple rock podium was the object of their desires. Without thinking, Spyro took a step forward...  
  
"Don't even think about it, you greedy little dragon. You already carry a Gigas Crystal, and you can only be the Holder of one. If someone was the holder of all six, then the Realms would fall into chaos, won't they?" Robin said plainly.

She narrowed her eyes at something above Spyro. Spyro felt a shiver travel down his spine when he heard a familiar sinister hiss in the back of his mind. "And I can't stand anything that Kraken follows."

"So, that just leaves Wart, Spyrius, Spyretta, and Scott to grab the crystal. We wasted our time climbing that godforsaken bridge!" Ripto shouted.

Robin laughed modestly at him, and then replied, "You can watch your friends take the test of champions. From what I've heard from the friends of those who failed, watching the tests alone is very entertaining..."  
  
Scott stood up on his hind legs and unsheathed his sword. "What is this task?" Wart, Spyrius, and Spyretta murmured their agreement. Robin moved with an amazing grace from standing in front of them to a cushion on the ground. She snapped her fingers, and all the candles extinguished themselves. Only the glows of the Red, Blue, Green, and Purple Gigas Crystals lit the room. Snowflake was in awe, watching the colors from her friends and herself cast beautiful shadows around the room.   
  
"All you have to do is to get to the Gigas Crystal." Robin's voice echoed, sounding louder then usual. The four dragons quickly braced themselves to run. "No, no, no!" Robin said in a mocking tone. "That would be much too easy for four bright dragons such as yourselves. We just have to make it...tougher!"   
  
When Robin uttered the word "tougher", the room suddenly burst with a rich, fiery red light that emitted from the Purple Gigas Crystal. For a moment, the entire group was blinded. Claws were raised against squinted eyeballs, every one of them wondering what sort of trick she was performing. Soon, the answer was revealed to them when they all noticed the sudden change in temperature.  
  
The room was now filled with lava rivers. Robin had shapeshifted the entire cavern from a nice sanctuary for the Purple Gigas Crystal into the exact replica of the inside of a volcano. Candles became stalactites, ornaments became littered bones, and the walls were now made of volcanic rock. Sweat poured down the four dragon's faces, from both deep thought and the intense heat, as they looked for a possible route to the Gigas Crystal.

Just then, Robin burst out of a nearby lava river, now in the shape of a black-scaled Lava dragon. She was now a species designed for navigating heats no other creature can handle, complete with a snake-like body for easier swimming through lava and tough scales that resemble obsidian. Purple eyes flared with both mockery and mischievousness.   
  
"What's the matter? Can't take the heat?" Robin hissed in a guttural voice. Spyrius stepped forward.

"I'm not afraid of fire and lava whatsoever! The heat doesn't even faze me!" He cried triumphantly. He charged forward, his horns pointing straight at her vulrnable throat. Robin hissed in annoyance at the dragon's optimistic views, and then with a quick flick of her dragon neck, sent Spyrius flying into a nearby stalactite.

"BROTHER!" Spyretta screamed as she ran to help him.   
  
Wart examined the situation in front of him. Spyrius and Spyretta were now fighting the large snake-like dragon that was once the Guardian of the Purple Gigas Crystal. Scott has his sword drawn and his shield in front of him as he approached the creature's back, hoping to strike a weak spot. Suddenly, Wart's eyes lit up. He tapped Scott's shoulders to get his attention, and then blurted out the craziest observation the dragon had ever said.

"Wait, this is all an illusion!"

Scott stared at him for a few seconds, letting the dragon's words sink in. "Are you mad, Wart? This is too real to be an illusion!" Wart flashed Scott a crazy smile that gave Scott the impression that the young mutated dragon had finally snapped.

"Robin's element is not fire, lava, and shape shifting; she's of the element of the mind itself! She's using her powers to beam the images of a volcano right here, down to the very heat of it. She's so skilled at magic, that she's tricking all five of our senses! Hot, cold, pressure, and pain is also fake here!"  
  
Scott watched as the Lava Dragon snapped at Spyrius and Spyretta. "Prove that this is an illusion then." Wart's mood lowered when he saw Scott's ideas flash across his face. He didn't believe him for a second. Scott thought that he had lost his mind. Wart looked down at the lava river formed by his feet, and then back at Scott. Closing his eyes, Wart did something that no dragon should do unless they were raised from the lava themselves.   
  
He dipped his left foot into the lava river.  
  
Pain. It hit his brain instantly like a brick crashing down on his senses. Wart screamed as he felt heat eat away at his left leg, stripping the flesh down to the bone and then crumbling the bone into dust in the sheer heat of the magma. Tears of pain sprang to his eyes; compared to this, Changeling's abuse was nothing more then a little bee sting. Scott watched him with great interest as Wart summoned up all of his strength to pull his leg out of the lava.   
  
Nothing was wrong with it. Wart stared at his foot in half-disbelief, almost expecting to see a blackened stump where it once stood. With joy he flexed his toes, staring at the neon yellow claws and the individual warts on each toe as if it was a miracle it was in one piece. He looked down at the lava once more.

"Well, experiments always need a second test run." he said to himself. He dipped his foot into the lava again, experienced the same mind-numbing pain, and pulled it back out. Nothing was wrong with it. He turned to Scott and saw that the dragon believed him now. Quickly, Wart formed a plan in his head.  
  
"Scott, distract Robin. I'm going after the Gigas Crystal." Wart ordered. Scott pointed his sword at Wart's chest. The lackey of Changeling swallowed, half-expecting Scott to run him through right then and there. For a while, no one spoke.  
  
"Oh, no. I'm going with you. Just because you proved that Robin's lava is an illusion doesn't make you the true Gigas Holder." Wart looked back to the Spy siblings, and saw that they were still busy with the Robin dragon.

"Fine, but we'll have to work in a team, Scott."

The two dragons ran forward, jumping over any rivers of lava that got in their way. Just when all that was between them was solid ground, the worst thing that could possibly happen happened.   
  
"Looking for this?" Changeling's voice ran through his ears. Changeling in all her evil glory leaned against the podium of the Purple Gigas Crystal, her tail flicking behind her in a sly matter. "I must say, you two are smarter then that Spyretta and Spyrius pair. They were no match for my power." Changeling cried, her voice becoming more like Robin with each word she spoke. Wart looked into Changeling's eyes, and saw that while they were purple, they were not slitted like cat's eyes. Instead, he was staring into the round, human pupils of Robin. He smiled inwardly, but hid his expression from both Scott and the Changeling impersonator.

"But, you're not strong enough to get past this!" She said. She quickly pulled out the ever-famous leather pouch that held the stolen Gigas Crystals. Yellow and Silver tumbled into Changeling/Robin's outstretched claws. Scott charged towards her with his sword outstretched in one hand and his shield held in front of him with his other hand.  
  
**_Buzzzzzap!_**

Wart cringed when he heard the unmistakenable sound of the magic that Changeling called "The Gigas Lightning". Every inch of Scott's body was covered with light yellow electricity, the result of the combined power of the two Gigas Crystals. The dragon screamed with the pain that was ripping through every inch of his body. His form slumped, and soon only the magic of the Gigas Crystals was holding him up. His sword fell to the ground with a clatter. Robin posing as Changeling stopped the magic flow, and the dragon fell onto the rock ground like a puppet that just got its strings cut.

"Scott, get up!" Wart shouted, daring not to say more of what he knew. Scott coughed twice. Wart could smell the sickening odor of burnt flesh. The bronze dragon shuddered once. 

"I...can't..." Scott said no more. He closed his eyes, and then he fell into unconsciousness. Wart looked back at his still friend, and then back at Robin. Wart shivered. "Well, I guess it's up to me!" Wart said. He dug his claws into the rock ground and braced for impact.   
  
When he had dipped his feet into the lava, only the affected areas burnt with the fire of the purest pain. Now, he was feeling his whole body being torn apart by the very magic that Changeling was famous for. Like Scott, the mutated dragon screamed as the pain arched through every part of his body. Wart could feel his mind slip, his body becoming colder...

'No!' Wart took a painful step forward. The electricity continued to flow through his veins, making him feel like someone was boiling him in hot oil. He closed his eyes, not giving Robin the satisfaction of his tears of pain. _'I'm not letting my friends down!'_

Wart started to step forward, his eyes closed and every inch of his body burning with pain. Each step felt like he was stepping through lava, but he took it quite well. He began to chant to himself.

"It's only an illusion." Wart licked the top of his mouth, feeling electricity arch through his mouth. His bones felt like they were ready to snap underneath her power.

"It's only an illusion." He could feel his skin peel back, revealing charred flesh. His eyeballs sizzled and felt like they were going to burst like popcorn kernels.

"It's only an illusion." Robin watched him with great interest; she had never seen a person succeed in this test before.

His stomach felt the sudden pressure of something solid. The podium. Wart blindly searched across the stone podium until his pained fingers wrapped around a diamond shape. With the last remaining ounce of his energy, Wart yanked with all of his might.   
  
_**"It's only an illusion!"**_  
  
The fire burning through his veins stopped immediately. The dragon sucked in sweet tasting air, happy to be alive. Wart's ears picked up no sound of churning magma, but instead picked up the sounds of gasps from all of his friends. He opened his eyes. He was back in Robin's cavern, and there was no sign that there was ever Changeling or any lava flows. Scott, Spyrius, and Spyretta were back on their feet and they looked like nothing was wrong with them. _'It was only an illusion. I was right for once!' _Wart thought. But then, he saw a sight that sickened him to his stomach.

"My will is yours, Gigas Holder." Robin said as she bowed to him. "Ever since that fated crystal was nestled there, I never beheld a dragon that could take punishment like that and still keep going. You truly have the mind to be my holder." Wart's knees felt like they've been turned into wet noodles.

"No...It can't be..."

He looked down to his palm and saw the Purple Gigas Crystal glittering in his hand. The magic warmed his palm, as if mocking him with its lethal power. Wart fell to his knees, the weight of his responsibility crushing his soul. No matter how much he tried to deny it, the proof was right there in his palm, glowing with its dark purple light.

Wart was now the Holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal.   
  


* * *

After the battle against Robin's powerful magic and the retrieval of the Purple Gigas Crystal, the large group fell asleep inside the large cave, exhausted by their day's work. Everyone was curled up around the same area, which was the empty podium that once held the Purple Gigas Crystal, except for Wart. He fell asleep far away from the group, the Purple Gigas Crystal still clutched in his claw. He had cried himself to sleep, all the pain and worry suffered in that day hitting him full force. In all his worry and regret, he didn't even notice the fact that someone had draped his shivering body with a spare blanket shortly before falling asleep...

Morning broke, lighting up the dismal landscape. Robin conjured them a breakfast before fading away like Kraken did in his cave. Everyone talked as usual during their meal, each of them eating their breakfast of choice. Snowflake talked excitedly as she ate eggs benedict with syrup-coated waffles, now happy to be alive. Her original companions were also happy. After all, the Gigas Crystals were either in their possession or Changeling's. That meant no more roaming around Avalar in search of crystals. 

Wart sat at the very entrance of Hawk Mountain, breathing in the heavy scent of morning as he ate a very delicious breakfast made of bacon, toast, and eggs. He sighed heavily to himself as he examined the accursed object in his hand. He considered tossing the crystal out the entrance of Hawk Mountain and watching the crystal tumble down the mountainside, but then that would undo all of their hard work in one instant.   
  
"Are you okay, Wart?" Wart was startled by the sudden question, and almost let his breakfast fall to the ground. He turned his head, and saw Eledor watching him with a look of absolute concern. He tried to smile, but he couldn't find the ability to.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now Changeling has a reason to kill me." Wart said dryly. "I have no need for this lethal gem. I'd give it to you, but then again, I have no idea how the radiation in this thing works. Snowflake is the only one able to touch her crystal, and the same with Spyro. I guess I'm stuck with this thing until we put these jewels back in their place."  
  
"Hey, it's not that bad." Snowflake said, now joining the conversation. "After a while you don't even notice the thing! So stop moping around so that we can start figuring out a way to retrieve the final two crystals from Changeling." Wart followed her orders automatically. He downed his breakfast in a few gulps and joined the rest of the crew, Eledor following behind.

Without the GCT, Snowflake had no idea where Changeling's location was. Despite this disadvantage, Ripto and Spyro were sketching out a rough drawing of the entire planet of Avalar on a large piece of parchment that they happened to find in Robin's stuff. The crew argued about Changeling's location. Each thought of their own route that Changeling possibly took, from circling the Mystic Marsh to even going back to the coast near Azura City to grab the sea dragon machines she abandoned. Finally, Elora stepped in.

"We're not going anywhere if we prolong our stay in Robin's peak. I say we climb down the mountain and work from there." she said. The holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal was impressed; she had grown a lot healthier since he had pulled her from the horde. Spyro was the first to agree.  
  
"She's right. We've prolonged our stay here anyways." Everybody naturally followed Spyro. After all, he was the experienced adventurer. They walked towards the opening of the cave, none of them anticipating the climb down. Just then, Spyro got an idea.  
  
"Hey, Wart. Since you're a holder of a Gigas Crystal, do you think you can find a spell that will make the trip down easier?" Spyro asked to the dragon. Wart stared down into the fog-filled expanse below. _'Strange. There wasn't that much fog last morning...' _With a sigh, he stood at the very edge, his claws wrapping around the corner. He pointed his crystal skyward, and closed his eyes. The Gigas Crystal started to glow brightly in his fingers, until it was hard to look straight into the potent gem. Wart gave a gasp as the magic surged across his body, but refused to move.  
  
Suddenly, the mountain began to shake. Great slabs of rock broke through the mountain's skin, spiraling down and around the mountain until they disappeared into the fog. The mysterious slabs of rock slowly shape shifted into finely crafted stairs, complete with a rock handrail to prevent falls. The magic gem stopped glowing brightly, its magic done with its work. Wart stumbled slightly, and then opened his eyes. "Whoa." He stepped onto the first step and started jumping up and down on it. "It's solid as a rock! Geez, this magic is powerful."  
  
One by one, the crew stepped onto the stairs. "Crafting stairs is not that hard, compared to what I've seen these Gigas Crystals do. Moving trees, torching lizardmen, sending bolts of electricity through the body is just the tip of the iceberg." Ripto claimed as he climbed down the stairs. "I'm almost ashamed that I'm giving away such a beautifully crafted weapon of mass destruction." He said gleefully to himself.  
  
"Ripto, in case you forgot over these last days of pure hell, these Gigas Crystals are being sought after by a scary cat with issues. Keep that gem, and you'll bring all the realms into ruins just running away from her!" Spyro shouted. After that, conversation was kept to a minimum as they made the tedious trip of traveling on the magic crafted stairway leading to solid ground.

They finally reached the bottom. The descent turned out to be a lot easier then the ascent, mostly because there was no bridge to scale. Just when they were just a few feet away from solid ground, something emerged from the fog that turned all their blood to ice.

The entire base of Hawk Mountain was surrounded with tough-looking creatures, ranging from lizardmen to fauns stolen from the Outlaws of the Balance. Wart started to shake; he recognized all their faces, and he knew that they had just climbed out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. This was Changeling's horde, and now there was no escape. 

The horde parted, and Changeling stood before them in all her power. Ripto took a step backwards, remembering how she had defeated him in Winter Tundra. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the reptile squad and their little furry friends. I never expected to meet you here! Yes that fog does work wonders, doesn't it?" She saw Wart standing there with the Purple Gigas Crystal in his hand. "Thank you, Wart. I never would've rounded up these three without the help from you." Wart was silent, but to please his mistress he gave her a slow nod of his head.   
  
"And look, you three were kind enough to gather the other four crystals for me. I'll be happy to take them off of your hands..." Changeling said. Spyro gave her a mighty growl. He stepped forward, ignoring all the horde members as he barked a threat to Changeling.   
  
"You'll have to pry it off of my body! I'm not giving it up without a fight!" Spyro shouted. Sadly, his shout didn't have the desired effect on his enemy. Changeling only smiled and said, "With pleasure."

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the entire horde sprang forward. Wart, Elora, Nazza, and Eledor, the group that Changeling herself sent, watched in horror as their friends were beaten and bound with tough chains and ropes. The three dragons that had joined the group in the Mystic Mountains had been dragged away by Laigon during the fight. Only the original three remained. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake were all bound together. They were unable to move, each of them bound to the point that they couldn't even sit up straight. Changeling ordered two minions to pick them up so that they were eye level with herself.  
  
"You three were very unwise to mess with me. If you lizards just kept your snouts out of my business, you would still be nice and warm inside your homes, unknown to the dangers of my horde." Changeling said casually. She removed the necklaces off the dragon's necks and placed the two gems into her carrying pouch. Spyro was the only one to notice that Changeling didn't even bother to touch Ripto's Gigas Crystal. Did Ripto's Crystal have a radiation that prevented Changeling from removing it from his scepter? Spyro made a mental note to explore it later.  
  
"I hope you three have a nice stay in your new home, the dungeons of my castle!" Changeling brought forth the five Gigas Crystals and held them out in front of them...  
  
The last thing the three heroes heard was the sound of Changeling's ever mocking laugh before the world faded into black.

* * *

**End of Chapter 11   
  
I bet you weren't expecting this, huh? Yes, I know I'm evil for leaving you all at a cliffhanger, but its a lead-in to the final four chapters of this story! Like Zoids, the final four is the climax of the story.No, Squall was not deprived from some Final Fantasy game! A squall is a large storm. Such a shame that such a nice word is now associated with an RPG.**

**Any references to Dune are purely coincidental. Really. =p**


	12. Battle At Castle Changeling

The Realms of Chaos

**Chapter 12: Battle At Castle Changeling **

Rating: High PG

Author's Notes: Da Dark One (or Da Dork One, as Nazza calls him) is of none of my concern. He's a brain-dead flamer that wouldn't know good quality fanfiction if it came and bit him in the ass.

_

* * *

_

Drip.... Drip.... Drip...

Snowflake's eyes fluttered open, and slowly adjusted on the interior of a dismal-looking place. Nothing but mold-covered stones, a small wooden bowl filled with unidentible slop, and rusty, creaking chains greeted her. Raw panic rushed into her brain instantly. She was in a dungeon, and a very well built one at that. Her eyes were greeted with nothing unusual for a dungeon's sense, so she let her hearing and smell do the talking.

Gradually, the presence of other captives became known to her. Moans, groans, pleas for mercy, and dying croaks filled the area around her. Snowflake wrinkled her snout in distaste when the dungeon's foul odor slowly became apparent. Death, disease, rotting flesh, urine, acid, blood, vomit, and sulfuric acid hit her nose in a nasty blend. Tears rolled down her eyes as she tried futilely to rid herself of the horrific smell. At last, she accepted that there was no way to rid herself of this foul atmosphere except for one thing.

She had to get out of here!

She let her eyes roam to a very familiar creature lying on the floor of her prison. Its breathing was slow and somber, like something still in the midst of a dream. Chains were hooked around the creature's neck and legs just like some animal ready to be displayed in a cruel circus. Only when a glint of gold shone from its horns did she realize that she was staring at the still unconscious form of Spyro. Snowflake tried to call out to her friend, but her throat was too tight from thirst. The dragon tried scooting towards Spyro, but she found that she was also bound around the legs and arms. In hopelessness, Snowflake let her head sag to her chest.

"Spyro, Ripto, I'm sorry for getting you into this mess." She moaned sadly.

_Drip...Drip...Drip... _

She realized that the sound of the dripping was not the sound of some unknown water source, but rather the sound of her own tears hitting the stone floor. The walls were designed so that any sound in her cell echoed.

_'I gotta stop being a baby. I gotta be strong, I have to be a hero!' _she thought to herself, trying to boost her confidence. The boost didn't work, and soon Snowflake was back to being a sad, lonely creature with only the sounds of her own tears to comfort her.

"Whoa...What happened back there?" Spyro groaned. He slowly rose to his feet, his movements groggy. When his eyes, ears, and nose adjusted to the setting around him, his grogginess turned into a raw anger that Snowflake began to think was common among real heroes like Spyro and her old friend Crystal back at home.

Spyro, despite the fact that he was still sleepy, fought against his bounds with all his might and all of his flame breath. Snowflake watched hopelessly as the purple dragon tired himself out. The chains around his feet were untouched by his dragon breath, and from the looks of it, his struggle only succeeded in making him even more tired.

"These chains were specifically designed for dragons, I bet." Spyro hissed. He started pacing around restlessly. "It's like I didn't even touch them!" He looked down at his chest, down at the now Gigas-less necklace stolen from the Kraken's Cave. His eyes hardened with raw fury.

"That cat is going to pay. She has the crystals, we're chained, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

Snowflake shrugged her shoulders, her chains clinking against each other in a hollow tone. Crystal always told her to look on the bright side of things, after all. "Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe she'll let us off easy, like setting us free after she's done conquering Avalar or-"

"She'll kill us all in front of everyone in Avalar to show exactly what happens to anyone who dares cross her way!" Spyro cut Snowflake off before she could finish. He slumped down on the hard, cold, stone ground, his wings drooped sadly at his sides.

"Let's face it, Snowflake. We're as good as dead."

At this statement, the two cellmates were silent. Once again came the dripping sound, only Snowflake saw that it was coming from Spyro. Poor Spyro. The whole world counted on him winning, and he failed. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and imagined herself in a better place.

"Good, I see that you two are finally awake. It's been five days since she captured us, and well, I was starting to think that she really did kill you..." Snowflake and Spyro's ears perked at the familiar voice. Claws clicked against the stone floor as Wart came towards them with refills to their food. It was more of that brown, gravy-like slop that Changeling fed to all of her slaves. One would expect Snowflake and Spyro to be happy of the dragon's arrival, but the two didn't seem pleased at all.

"**You little traitor!**" Snowflake lunged as far as her chains allowed her to, her hands groping for Wart's neck through the strong dragon-proof bars. Spyro, who was unable to move as far as Snowflake, growled angrily at Wart in a doglike fashion with wisps of smoke trailing from his nose. Wart took two steps backwards from the two fuming dragons, surprised at their outbursts.

"Traitor!?!" He croaked.

"Yes, traitor. We saw you nodding when Changeling said you set us up. We trusted you, and you go and backstab us! You're nothing more then a big, scaly toad with wings that lives only to please!" Spyro screamed. Spyro's voice echoed down the halls, and for a while, the slaves stopped their moaning and pleas for help. Nothing was heard, save for the sound of an elderly captive dying behind them. Wart lowered his eyes to the food dish he was holding.

"I know of a way to get you out of here. If you are willing to listen to me, I'll tell you." Wart said. His voice was unimaginably hollow. Snowflake and Spyro looked at each other, and then nodded to their scaly helper.

"Okay, the five days while you two were knocked out, I studied the maps of the castle closely. There are several routes out of here, and I happen to know every one of them."

"You...memorized the whole layout of this godforsaken place just to help us?" Snowflake said, her voice filling with a new respect for Wart. Maybe there was a flicker of hope for the two hopeless dragons after all. Wart nodded in delight.

"All I need to do is steal the keys from Laigon, goodness knows how I'm going to do that, and then we can escape this place together!"

Spyro looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "What about our Crystals, Wart? We need to steal those from Miss High-and-Mighty as well if we're going to get out of here!" Spyro said. Wart's eyes darted from one side of the hallway to the other, and when he noticed that nobody was going to hear him, dropped his voice and smiled to them deviously.

"Already did so. I hid the Blue and Green Gigas Crystals in your food." The two captive dragons looked at the goop, and indeed saw two lumps in the brown stuff. How the little dragon stole the crystals from his Mistress was left unsaid, except they probably could imagine the consequences if Changeling ever found out.

"Keep them hidden until I come back with the keys to get you two out of here, unless you want Laigon to find Changeling's personal property in you two's hands."

Snowflake suddenly remembered that only she and Spyro were in this cage. She looked to Wart, and then asked the question that was plaguing her mind. "Where's Ripto?"

For a while, everything was silent. Moans, groans, and cries of despair became alien to their ears as the two dragons stared at Wart, waiting for his answer. Wart looked hesitant to speak the answer, for his eyes kept roaming to a new spot in the dungeon to stare at. Finally, he spoke his answer, and he said it as if it was too horrible to say.

"Changeling is seeing him personally. She locked him in a room that's just adjacent to the stadium." His eyes locked on Snowflake's, green meeting green.

"She's trying to provoke the radiation of the Red Gigas Crystal, and only she knows what's going to happen to Ripto. I'm so sorry."

No words were spoken between the three dragons. Wart turned to leave. As the little wart-covered creature left, a new sound filled his ears, a sound that Wart had not heard during his entire conversation with his captured friends.

_Drip.... Drip.... Drip... _

* * *

"...Wake up, Ripto...."

Ripto groaned as a strange, new voice assaulted the comfort of his mind. He kept his eyes closed, but from the intense pain in his wrists he could tell that he was hanging from strong dungeon chains. Yep, he was in a dungeon all right; his nose recognized that ever-so-comforting smell of death and disease anywhere. He hoped that the person talking to him would think that he was still knocked out as he kept his breathing suppressed. Ripto's plan didn't work, for suddenly his shoulders were set ablaze by the pain of something hitting his shoulders.

"Wake up, you cretin!" Changeling shook Ripto's chained form, her cat-like claws digging into his shoulders until they drew blood. Ripto opened his eyes with a cry of pain. The worst has happened to him; he was staring face-to-face with Changeling, chained up in a personal dungeon and unable to flee. Ripto felt dejected and hopeless, which a humiliating new sensation for the tyrant that he wouldn't soon forget.

"Why don't you just steal that accursed Red Gigas Crystal from me and be done with it? I'd rather die then see you torture any of my friends." Ripto snarled. When he realized what he said, he felt his heart become heavy. Did he just call Spyro his friend? What was this quest doing to him psychologically?

"I'd love to, gladly, but unfortunately only the true Gigas Holder of that special Gigas Crystal can even go near it. I can steal your dragonish friends' crystals with ease, but I can't even touch that crystal without hurting myself. You see, when Otpir created those crystals, he wanted to make sure that at least one crystal could be untouched by anyone except the person chosen by Incinder, the only Gigas Guardian with the power to do so." Changeling explained. Ripto shifted unsuccessfully in his chains in an attempt to let blood circulate through his hands.

"So, what's the point? If you can't have the sixth crystal, then you're better off just handing those crystals back to us!" Ripto shouted. He hoped that that would do the trick, but a savage growl emitted from Changeling's lips.

"No, I'm afraid I can't let you have them. Just because I can't touch the crystal doesn't mean you can't use the crystal for my benefits." Ripto's capturer stated rather plainly. She looked like she had suddenly become interested in the shape of her sharp claws.

"You scratch my back and I scratch yours. You help me conquer Avalar, and I'll help you rid the Dragon Realms of dragons forever. Think about it. We're better off as allies then enemies."

Ripto wouldn't buy her tricks, not anymore. "Listen, feline. I've been against you for more then a month of pure torture, all of it stemming from you attacking me in the snow for a Gigas Crystal. Well, I'm not helping you. None of your tricks will ever change me."

"Really? Even if I were to explain how you're tied into this whole fiasco? These Gigas Crystals have been around for a long time, Ripto. In fact, they were created many decades before your birth and even before mine and Otpir's by the ancient faun elders that Elora was descended from." Changeling said, her voice a sinister hiss. There was an eerie silence following her voice afterwards. Ripto gave her a confused glare.

"How...old are you?" The Riptoc said, his voice hesitant and cautious. Changeling didn't lash out on him, but instead stated plainly.

"I'm twice as old as you are, Ripto. I'm 47 years old and will continue to live on forever once I get your crystal."

"Then tell me, oh great wise one, what do I have to do with these Gigas Crystals?" Ripto asked in a sarcastic tone. He didn't care about the sorcerer's age; he only cared for the safety of himself and the people that traveled with him. Changeling cleared her throat, and then sat down on a wooden stool that Ripto failed to notice until now. Ripto felt his hands fall asleep. '_She'd better hurry up, I'm growing tired of hanging right here on the wall like some trophy_.' he thought.

"Back in the days of when Avalar was ruled by the Faun Elders, the forces of magic became fused into six gems to create the Gigas Crystals. Along with the six elemental Gigas Crystals that you and your friends are familiar with, there was a secret power that was summoned only when the six gems were combined. That power is none other then the power to manipulate the forces of life and death itself. With this power, the holders of the Gigas Crystals were all-powerful in their reign." Changeling explained.

"And...What does this have to do with me?" Ripto asked. Changeling hissed at him for interrupting her story.

"I'm getting to that, you impatient whelp!" She then suppressed her quick to anger temper and continued.

"And so Avalar was safe for several lifetimes with fauns running the Gigas Crystals from the safety of the Diamond Palace. That is, until a Riptoc from a world filled with tyranny stepped into the ring. His name was Otpir the Merciless, and with his skilled fighting abilities he stole the Gigas Crystals from the fauns and then became the ruler."

Ripto's eyes lit up. "Oh! I remember this story! Grunge told us this when we nicked the Green Gigas Crystal from him!"

"However, I bet he didn't tell you your relation to Otpir. I bet you don't know the fact that Otpir's your father, don't you?" Changeling hissed. Ripto froze. For a while, the sensation of his numb fingers faded away as his blood turned to ice.

"Wait a minute. The creator of the Guardians, the radiation, this very quest...is my father?" Ripto then felt like a semi truck hit him. If Otpir the Merciless was his father, and Changeling was the same age as him, then was this sinister creature his mother?

"Don't even think about it, you vile whelp!" Changeling said. She was clutching the Purple Gigas Crystal in her hand, and Ripto paled when he realized that she was now reading every thought that pasted through his head.

"The very thought of me spawning you is enough to make me vomit. I was married to Otpir against my will when I was only a Swiftclaw maiden, yes, but luckily Otpir had many trophy wives of which to serve him. Your mother was a Riptoc also, a fragile little thing that obviously couldn't last long even without me speeding the process of death along."

Ripto narrowed his eyes. "You.... You were the dark magic that spelled the end for Otpir's reign that Grunge mentioned!" Rage pumped through his veins like fire.

Changeling smiled inwardly when she saw the Red Gigas Crystal glow brightly from this new feeling of pure anger. Ripto's emotions were playing right into her hand. '_What a predictable little whelp._' she thought sadistically.

"You killed my father and my mother! You chucked me into a dragon-destroyed world when I was just an infant! You somehow knew that the code 2-2-4-7-5 would bring me back to Avalar to claim my birthright! You knew that I had the Red Gigas Crystal on me back at Winter Tundra! You...You've ruined my life!"

Changeling watched the Riptoc curse her name with a smile; this was the crystal's radiation at work. It won't be long now before the rest of her plan can take place. The Silver Gigas Crystal floated into her hand and she readied herself to seize the magic for herself and use it for her own uses.

Ripto was in the middle of a very offensive insult when Changeling jabbed the point of the Silver Gigas Crystal in his chest. "What are you do-" Ripto's question was cut off by the burning sensation of all the power of the Red Gigas Crystal surging near his heart. He choked with the pain as Changeling manipulated the magic, feeding it with all of his blind fury. Ripto blinked confusedly at the cat furry until he felt his skin tighten with the feeling of a new sensation. A sensation that he dreaded the most.

"The Silver Gigas Crystal...You can-" "Yes. Thanks to my genius, I can now use it to shut off and provoke the radiation of the other five Gigas Crystals. And you, my gullible Ripto, had the intelligence to become so angry that I can properly feed the magic of your special Gigas Crystals' radiation with the power of your rage and fire. And Otpir said to me with his last breath that you would be too smart to fall for such a trick! HAH!"

Ripto let out a wordless cry of fury, but it soon turned into a deep, low growl...

------------------------------------------------------------

As Changeling was torturing Ripto about his crystal, strange things were happening in a room on the opposite end of the castle in one of the tallest towers. It was a strange and spacious room, filled to the brim with furniture covered with containers filled with strange chemicals. Smoke billowed out of the windows as foul and strange things were mixed together by skilled hands. For a while, the only sound was that of a stirring rod clicking against a glass beaker. A warty hand raised a reddish liquid into the light...

"Geez, Wart. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake are in danger and you're mixing up wine!" Eledor said, her hands cuffed around her horned nose to block out the sweet smell of very strong wine. Wart, lost in his scientific work, blinked confusedly at Eledor before snapping out of his trance and explained.

"This wine will be bait for us to use to get Spyro and Snowflake out of that cage. I saw Changeling walk into Laigon's room with the keys in her hand, and I heard her talking to him about guarding them while her plan went into play." He poured the wine into a larger beaker. Wart held the beaker to his face and swirled the alcoholic beverage for good measure, before setting it down and pulling out a test tube filled with a light blue liquid. He poured the liquid into the wine, holding his nose as the chemicals mixed.

"You know about Laigon's addiction to wine. That's his weak spot. I hand this wine to him, and the keys to Spyro and Snowflake's cell are ours." He motioned to Eledor to come closer, and he held the near empty tube to her nose. She examined it with her eyes and then smiled at his craftiness.

"That's Elixir of Sleep! One drop of that stuff is enough to knock out a full-grown chimera unconscious for several hours!" Eledor exclaimed. Wart nodded.

"Yep, but since this stuff has a strong smell, I have to mix in an ingredient to Laigon's specialized wine that always makes his mouth water." The little dragon exclaimed, his eyes drooping from the smoke of the sleep potion. He then took out a stainless steel knife from a cabinet, held his arm over the beaker, and dragged the blade across a convient spot. Wart didn't even wince as his crimson blood dropped into the wine mixture. Eledor gagged.

"Laigon drinks blood!?!" she asked. Wart nodded solemnly. He kept watching the drops of blood fall into the beaker and squeezed his wound for good measure.

"He's a carnivore. Nothing tastes sweeter on his tongue then the blood of the fallen. That's why he takes all the slaves along on adventures such as this. When one of them dies, he has an instant snack. You saw him while we were arriving here, munching on the body of Fenre like some animal!"

Eledor remembered. Fenre just wasn't as faithful to Laigon's words as the other slaves. He tried escaping from his bounds while he was pulling a slave caravan, only to be trampled by the dragon behind him. The large wooden wheel of the slave caravan ran over his fallen form, crushing his spine in the process. Laigon, as soon as he saw the accident, pulled the corpse from under the caravan's wheel. And then, in front of the eyes of Wart and his comrades that he brought with him during the Mystic Mountains quests, tore through Fenre's supple flesh and lapped the blood of the dead faun like a dog under a facet. He ate savagely, and even the dragon and lizardmen slaves cringed at the sound of Laigon crunching through Fenre's blood-soaked bones to get at the marrow.

"Done." Wart announced. His blood had clotted, leaving only a slight gash on his arm, and there was absolutely no scent of the sleeping drug in Laigon's drink. The dragon examined the drink before adding more wine to fill the beaker up all the way. Then, he gently poured the wine mixture into a fancy wine bottle before sealing it. "Now let's see if this plan will work or not."

Eledor and Wart stepped out of the labs and into the hallway. Only the sound of a lizardman patrol was heard. Without another sound, the dragon and the rhynoc darted towards Laigon's room. Wart, knowing the layout by hand, darted down hallways like a shadow, Eledor following behind. Soon, they stopped at a door hand-carved by scimitars so that it looked like the door was consisted of bones. Wart looked to Eledor, their uncertain fear reflected in their eyes, and then he opened the door.

"What brings you here, Wart?" The sea serpent said, spitting out Wart's name as if it were a bad-tasting medicine. Laigon was standing at the other end of the room, both of his scimitars unsheathed. The key to Spyro and Snowflake's freedom sat in front of him on a rather simple table furnished with only the stinking fur of some poor creature that Laigon happily skinned alive. Wart tried not to let his eyes wander to the hideous battle trophies hung on the simple wooden walls as he walked nonchalantly up to Laigon.

"I've come to congratulate you on your fighting prowess. Without you, we never would've caught that slimy Riptoc and his reptilian friends." Wart lied, his voice full of false pleading and sincerity. He held out the wine bottle in front of him, letting the sun illuminate the red drink inside. "And what better way to celebrate is to drink on your good fortune?"

Laigon considered this, rubbing his yellow scaly chin with his dirty claws. Finally, he complied. He let Wart come closer and let the little dragon pour wine into two golden goblets stolen years ago from some unfortunate fairy family. Laigon and Wart sat down at the table, both of them watching each other warily. Finally, Laigon broke the forming silence. "You drink first. After all, a wine brewer has to sample his wares first."

Wart waved a hand in Laigon's direction. "No, I've already tried it. Its bitter sweetness is enough to intoxicate the biggest dragon. You go first."

A scimitar was pointed at Wart's direction. "I said drink the drink!" Laigon hissed. Wart was surprised; considering how much Laigon loved to get drunk, he thought that Laigon would be the first to drink. Despite his fear, the dragon smiled and grabbed the goblet. He raised the drink to his lips. The dragon let the wine into his mouth, but he dared not swallow the concoction. Wart flashed him a fake smile of satisfaction, which gave Laigon the permission to drink.

"Yeah, that's good drinking." Laigon said after he chugged down the entire contents of the goblet within two gulps. Wart lifted the goblet to his mouth, but instead of sampling more of the wine he expertly spat all the rust-tasting wine into the cup in the most inconspicuous way possible. He turned his head to Laigon. The sea serpent had already flopped uselessly against the table, drool forming in a puddle near his mouth. Eledor gave a whoop of satisfaction.

"Remind me to wash my mouth out when we get back, preferably with the antidote of the Elixir of Sleep so as not to risk anything." Wart said. He wrapped his claws around the keys to the slaves' cells, watching Laigon's fallen form warily as if the sea serpent was going to spring from his sleep at any given moment.

A sudden earthquake shook the castle. Wart and Laigon's goblets splattered to the floor and created a stain in the fur carpet. Eledor and Wart gripped the table as dust cascaded down from the ceiling. Laigon slid out of his chair and fell into the wine puddle, but his sleep was not disturbed at all. When the shaking subsided, both of them rose to their feet.

"Do you think that could've been...Changeling?" Eledor said. Another earthquake, one that was much smaller in comparison to the first one, sounded and then another. Wart cringed when he suddenly realized the truth. Those weren't earthquakes at all; those were footprints of something big. The first earthquake was probably none other then the rumbling of the giant monster tearing free of its former prison from the foundations.

"Changeling did mention the radiation of the Red Gigas Crystal. Do you think it's capable of-" Wart's voice was cut off abruptly when a loud roar shook the castle. The two creatures flinched when they somewhat recognized that roar...

Wart and Eledor never ran faster in their lives. Whatever was happening, Snowflake and Spyro had to get out of their prison and had to get out of it now!

---------------------------------------

Snowflake and Spyro were very gladdened to see the dragon and his rhynoc friend run towards them with the keys to the cell in his hands. Slaves stirred from hungered sleeps as they heard the ever-so beautiful sound of their freedom clinking together and rushing past their cells like a mockery of their current position.

"Sorry we called you a traitor, Wart. I guess doing time in the stony lonesome does things to people's minds." Snowflake said as the warty dragon twiddled the key in the lock. The door swung open with a loud creak. Moving like a shadow, Wart darted to Snowflake's still form to free her wrists, ankles, and neck from the chains. Snowflake gratefully rubbed the sore areas

"Hey, Wart!" Wart turned his head momentarily from Spyro's chains to see Nazza in the opposite cell alongside Elora shouting his head off for attention. They looked worse for the wear, but otherwise they were okay.

"Anytime you feel like freeing us would be helpful!" Wart ignored the wolf until he freed Spyro. As the dragon let circulation flow through his sore wrists, Wart walked up to Nazza's stall.

"Look, I'll come back for you after we rescue Ripto from whatever Changeling has done to him. Cross my heart, hope to die." The blue wolf looked at the white and purple dragon standing behind Wart, and then wordlessly agreed. Freedom had to wait. For now.

"I tell you. That gravy runs faster then my friend's nose when she's got a cold. What's in that stuff anyways?" Snowflake said, trying to lighten up the mood as she wiped the Green Gigas Crystal clean on her skirt as she ran with Wart, Eledor, and Spyro. Wart smiled but didn't say anything. He was too busy leading his three followers through hallways and passageways to the source of the growing sound of monstrous footsteps.

The sound of footsteps became so loud that the four heroes had to cuff their ears with their hands in order to block out the sound of the deafening sound. Their claws clicked against the stone uselessly as they ran through the castle, taking all the routes that Wart instructed them through. Wart was about to lead them into a large hallway with red carpeting when a scaled foot fell down in front of the arched doorway, blocking their entrance. All four of them paled when they found out where Ripto was.

Changeling cackled with glee as she sat on the shoulder of a monstrous beast, instructing it with the Silver Gigas Crystal. Spyro immediately recognized the monster; he fought against it in the Dragonfly festival a while back. It was Ripto all right, but his frail form had been pumped up to create a large, hulking monster with sharp claws and teeth. The scepter with the Gigas Crystal had been transformed into a giant club to better fit the monster's great size. Ripto's lower lip was framed with sharp, orcish teeth designed to render anything that got in his mouth to shreds. His once clawless fingers and toes were now equipped with long, fiendish nails blackened with castle dirt. The remains of his sorcerer's clothing hung around his body in tatters, covering the monster enough to make him decent but obviously showing how the clothes couldn't take the abuse of their wearer's new size change.

"What has that monster done to Ripto?" Snowflake cried out. She tried to dart towards Gigas Ripto and his controller, but Wart and Spyro held her back. She struggled and pleaded against the two dragons, but their grip was strong. Eledor watched hopelessly as the female screamed and tried desperately to claw away from their hold.

"Get a hold of yourself, Snowflake! It's not like he hasn't done this before!" Spyro shouted to her. "Remember the Dragonfly ceremony?" She slumped against Wart and Spyro in defeat at this statement. She started to cry despite herself.

'_This quest softened me up. I shouldn't be such a baby.'_ she thought to herself. "I know, but what can we do? Changeling's controlling him; there's no way we can stop them."

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that." Wart said. He looked down the hallway, watching the two monsters enter a double-door entrance designed to fit a monster twice Gigas Ripto's size. "They entered the giant battle arena for a reason, you know." He turned towards them, his right hand balled into a fist. He punched his out-stretched palm in a form of aggression that he really didn't understand. "Let's show Changeling what we're really made of!"

"Hey, that's my line Wartface!" Spyro shouted, but he did it in good humor. Without another word, the four ran down the large red carpet and towards the double doors to face their new challenge. It took the strength of all four of them, but they managed to push one of the large doors open to face Changeling and Ripto.

The doors led into the most spectacular arena the two of them had ever seen. The large battle arena was designed like the Roman Coliseum, complete with the millions of rows of seats for the spectators to watch the carnage in. Only this battle arena seemed to be the Roman Coliseum from hell. Cracks, chasms, abysses, and pits dotted the battlefield like holes on a sponge. Jagged rocks poked out of the ground like broken glass, giving the battlefield a mountainous look to it. When Snowflake, Eledor, and Spyro inspected closer, they saw dark blotches of dried blood scattered across the battlefield. This wasn't a battle arena; it was an area of slaughter.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up." Heads turned, and sure enough, Changeling stood before them, Ripto snarling behind her. She smiled maliciously as they watched their friend in horrified awe. "To think that all this time I tricked all of you into thinking that I was none the wiser on Wart's betrayal."

Wart froze, still as a statue. "You...knew?" He croaked dryly to her. He felt his whole world crashing down on his shoulders. Changeling turned over the Silver Gigas Crystal in her hand as she explained.

"Warriors Against Raging Tyrants, the missing torpedoes, the theft of the Blue and Green Gigas Crystals. Whatever crime against me you did, I knew you did it. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to just leave the Blue and Green Gigas Crystals, freshly collected, on a table just for you to take without me being none the wiser? I wanted for the holders to die in a fine display, and you helped me Wart. By being a traitor, you've helped me in a way that you couldn't when you were loyal. Thank you Wart. When your friends are dead, you'll be lucky if you mutate into something with legs when I'm through with you."

Wart was shaking like a leaf, but not with cowardice. After all the trouble he did to help his friends, the thought of him being the one leading them into the meat grinder was not discouraging; it was disgusting. Wart glared at Changeling with a newborn fire in his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you anymore! You can take your chemicals and go inject yourself! Maybe then, you can mutate into something with a heart! I hate you, and you can go rot for all I care!"

There was a stunned silence. Even Ripto, in his brutish form, seemed momentarily shaken. Only Changeling remained calm. She gave Wart a minor shrug. "Fine. If that's the way you want it." She held out Wart's Purple Gigas Crystal and used its power to levitate herself onto Ripto's shoulder. "I'll just crush you to bits along with your friends! It's been nice torturing you, Wart!" Just then, Changeling's Silver Gigas Crystal began to glow. Ripto instantly sprang to life by the commands of his controller. Ripto emitted a frightening wail before charging towards them, sending shards of rock flying with each step.

"No prob. I've beaten this form once, I can beat it again." Spyro shouted to his comrades. Wart and Eledor didn't pay any heed; they were too busy climbing onto safe ground inside the bleachers to care. The purple dragon began to charge towards the monster, his horns outstretched.

"_Keeeeeeeaaaaar!_" A giant bird with feathers made of fire sliced Spyro's back with its talons, knocking him aside. Spyro rolled against the rocks like a rag doll until regaining his posture. His eyes widened. "No...Is that...the Red Gigas Guardian?" But he knew the answer to his question already. There was no denying it; the giant bird definitely looked intelligent enough to qualify as a Guardian. Incinder the Red Gigas Guardian gave another screech before it sent itself into a dive. Talons outstretched, it sought its target; a stunned, purple dragon.

"Ssstay back!" Kraken's massive head hit Incinder, sending fiery sparks everywhere. Spyro then realized what he had to do. "Of course! Guardians can only be beaten by other Guardians! Grunge and Robin didn't need to be fought because fighting wasn't the requirement for the gem!" Spyro inquired out loud. Kraken could only roar in agreement as he spat his acidic ink onto Incinder's outstretched wing. Just then, a plan formed in the dragon's head.

"Snowflake! You go after Ripto. Leave Incinder to me!" Spyro shouted to the white dragon. Snowflake gave Spyro a skeptical look.

"Are you nuts, Spyro? Ripto would only crush me flat! I don't have any natural weapons like you do, and it's not like I have any kind of sword..." The white dragon yelled back. She dodged a club swing by the monster that used to be her friend as Spyro shouted back his answer to her.

"You don't need a sword or any kind of weapon! You need to use your Gigas Crystal!" Spyro stopped speaking for a moment as he dodged a fireball from the giant phoenix. "Like the Guardians, monsters created by Gigas Crystals can only be defeated by Gigas Crystals. If you want Ripto back to normal, you must defeat Changeling's magic with magic of your own. Have faith, Snowflake! I know you can do it!" The purple dragon shouted.

Snowflake was moved by the heroic dragon's wise words, and soon she was rushing towards Ripto, Green Gigas Crystal in one hand, and a rock shard in the other. Spyro gave her a final look of confidence before focusing all his energy in dodging Incinder's attacks and keeping the phoenix distracted enough for Kraken to score more hits on him.

"Please, Honey. Have you even fought giant monsters before? Rock shards just don't cut it girl!" Changeling mocked as Snowflake dodged another swinging club attack. Gigas Ripto snarled in anger, flashing yellowed fangs, as the white dragon maiden dodged claw swipes and club swings. Snowflake smiled; fighting monsters was easier then her friend Crystal made them out to be. However, this feeling of confidence soon turned to pain as a fireball hit her right between the wings.

Snowflake never really was a fireproof dragon. The flume of whitish-blue fire was enough to burn her scales until they blacked and started to peel. Snowflake screamed, but even then she could hear Changeling laugh mockingly at her pain. Before she could fall on her face, Snowflake brought out her feet and caught herself on the large rock shards. She turned to face Gigas Ripto and Changeling.

"Awww, did the dragon forget about the magic of the Gigas Crystal?"

"Yes, but I know that I should learn from my mistakes." Snowflake said heroically. She turned to face the cat and her monster, a confident smile on her face. She tossed the rock shard away for it to shatter against the ground, and held out the only weapon that really mattered; her Green Gigas Crystal.

"And I know that the only way to fight magic is to use magic of your own!"

Snowflake dug her claws into the battlefield floor and began to concentrate on the Green Gigas Crystal's power. She blocked out everything from her mind, including the sound of Changeling ordering Ripto to torch the annoying dragon once and for all. '_What did Grunge say this crystal could control?_' she thought to herself. '_Let's see...plant life, animal life, the planet itself..._'

Several things happened at once. Changeling let out a wail as a massive earthquake of monstrous proportions flung her off Ripto's shoulder. She skidded across the rocks, the Silver Gigas Crystal tumbling out of her hand. More cracks formed in the arena, and Spyro had to scramble onto Kraken's slimy back in order to avoid a fissure that formed at his feet. Wart, Eledor holding onto him, launched into air shortly before a rock came crashing down on where they were seating. Incinder cawed confusedly as it watched the scene in front of it. Gigas Ripto growled and buried his staff into the ground to remain steady. Only Snowflake remained still, perched on a boulder with her body luminated with green light.

"Snowflake! Changeling doesn't have control over Ripto anymore! Now's the time to strike!" Wart shouted at her. Snowflake complied, and then closed her eyes, just like she did when she had led her friends out of the Rainforests of Mist. She reached inwardly to the nature power within the Gigas Crystal just as Changeling started to inch closer to her namesake crystal.

Green light surrounded Ripto's monstrous form just before Changeling could pick up her crystal. The evil cat summoned her magic as well, but a large form made of leaves blocked it.

"So now all the Guardians are against me..." Changeling hissed as Grunge blocked her from using her magic to control Ripto again.

"Let me help you, Ripto. Changeling did something bad to you. I will make you better again!" Snowflake coaxed to the monster. Ripto advanced closer to her, his body still glowing with her magic. Grunge turned his head to watch the display in concern. The scene looked like an illustration from a fairy tale. A lone dragon maiden, her skirt torn from more then a month of hardships, standing before a monster crafted from both a nightmare and her dearest friend.

"You don't have the strength to reverse my radiation, dragon. Give it up." Changeling hissed. She was now on her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth. The Silver Gigas Crystal was clutched in her bloody hand, along with the sack filled with her ill-gotten Yellow and Purple Crystals. Changeling never looked worse; the earthquake tore her fur and cloak in many horrific ways, making her look like a creature that had risen from the pits of hell.

"That is where you're wrong, Changeling." Snowflake commented. Her eyes were still on the slowly advancing monster in front of her, but her words carried towards the Swiftclaw in a way that Changeling couldn't imagine possible. "I do have strength. For a full month, I've been proving my strength by facing monsters, battling lizardmen and sea dragons, adventuring through jungles, oceans, and mountains, and to help the very villain that terrorized this world without caring about the consequences. You have been mistaken. I'm not the weak one, you are."

The giant Ripto monster gave a strangled cry as Snowflake's magic reversed the effects of Changeling's evil magic. The cat screamed in rage as all her handiwork was undone slowly but steadily in front of her, reducing the monstrous creature into a more familiar shape. Soon all that was in front of the white dragon was a tiny form wrapped with green light and tattered clothes. Everyone, including Spyro, watched in awe as Snowflake sprinted across the rocks to catch Ripto as he fell. Both of them landed in a heap on the sharp rocks, but Snowflake ignored her wounds as she clutched the fallen form like a child.

"Snowflake...Wha...happen...?" Ripto croaked, hardly able to talk. Blood was flowing from his nostrils and his breathing was shallow from the sudden transformation. Snowflake stroked his head scales like a mother soothing a child.

"Nothing happened. Just rest now..." Snowflake cooed, and sure enough the Riptoc lapsed into a peaceful coma. Tears started to fall from the dragon's eyes, and she didn't even notice the large phoenix standing behind her, its wings fanned out behind her as if in a form of protection. Kraken and Grunge lifted their heads in unison and wailed a mournful tune that, in a place filled with slaves and bloodthirsty overlords, sounded as beautiful as a church's choir.

In a world filled with blood, ruin, and monsters, nothing could be more powerful in the love shown between a white Tylian dragon and a small, wronged Riptoc from a world not his own...

**

* * *

End of Chapter 12 (Three more chapters to go!) **

Did I tell you how much I hate fighting scenes? I hated writing this chapter as much as I hated writing the chapter with Bane fighting the sea monster machine and the chapter with the Kraken battle. I also gave what most of the fans wanted; Snowflake/Ripto romance.

For those of you who've actually had the patience to beat Enter the Dragonfly with 100 should be able to recognize Ripto's monster form. I actually found that game fun, but you needed to have played it on the Gamecube or the X-Box to fully enjoy it.

The PS2 version is sluggish, glitchy, and loads a lot slower then the other versions.

Difference between my Otpir and Darkeiya's Otpir:  
My Otpir: Ripto's father  
Her Otpir: Ripto before he became evil.

If anyone says that she copied off of me or that I copied off of her, I will laugh heartily at the fool.


	13. Meet Me at Diamond Palace

**The Realms of Chaos   
  
Chapter 13: "Meet Me At Diamond Palace"   
  
Rating: High PG   
  
Author's Notes: I got a very idiotic flame lately from a girl that obviously doesn't have a single brain cell in her head. Hah hah. A "Your story sucks" from a person who writes about a girl "eating trash and stealing food" is nothing. She told me that I have no brain, read only one chapter out of twelve, and doesn't even know who Spyro is. She's just making herself look good because her pride was hurt when I constructively critised a story that got deleted very quickly.  
  


* * *

**A stray wind blew in the area of slaughter that was Changeling's arena. Only eight creatures felt the breeze, and none of them seemed to notice. Snowflake sat on the ground, clutching the fallen form of Ripto to her chest as she thought about all the punishment they had took in the last few weeks. Spyro slumped on the rocky floor next to the large squid Kraken, licking his wounds and making sure that no bones were broken. Incinder, now ashamed of his acts against the group, talked with Grunge in a language that none of the non-Guardians could understand. Wart and Elora seemed to be thinking about their current situation, as they sat solemnly with their voices down. 

"You have some nerve..." Heads turned to Changeling. The cat furry had to struggle to get up, and Wart couldn't help but laugh when he saw that she had broken one of her legs in the fight. Changeling stood where she had fallen in the fight, her face twisted with pain but too proud to admit that she was suffering. Her Silver Gigas Crystal was still clutched in her left hand as if the magic could help her summon the Ripto monster again to her need.

"You've thought you've won, haven't you?" Changeling snarled. Her voice was lowered down to a satanic hiss. Her glowing purple eyes, bruised body, and hunched-over stance made the cat creature look like she had crawled out of the darkest pit of the underworld. Wart cowered slightly, nine years of slavery coming back to him in that instant.

"Yes, we have. We beat your monster, and we kicked your evil tail! Of course we've won!" Spyro yelled back. Shouts of agreement rose from his friends. The wind began to pick up, and soon Changeling's cape started to billow. Changeling narrowed her eyes at the dragons, but she mostly glared at the little Riptoc that was once so comfortable in her power.

"Just because you've won this fight doesn't mean you've beaten me. You forget who owns this beautiful castle of pain and torture here, dragon." Changeling snapped in a tone of voice that made Spyro's good mood falter. Her turquoise hair whipped against her face as her tone began to change from one of pure malice to one with a sickly sweet tone to it.

"There's more then one way to slay a dragon. Ripto may have failed me, but that doesn't mean my magic will."  
  
Dragons, rhynoc, and Guardians all watched as Changeling took out the other two Gigas Crystals from her pouch. Yellow, silver, and purple glew in a mixture of colors as Changeling clutched them in both hands. Energy started to build around her body until all her wounds fixed themselves. Wart narrowed his eyes when he saw her mend her broken bones in one spell; she always told him that her magic never healed broken bones when he was working for her. A refreshed overlord stood in front of them. Spyro and Snowflake held their ground.   
  
"I hope you like Hell kiddies, because that's where you're going." Changeling hissed. She held the three Gigas Crystals above her head with outstretched arms and shouted a command in a runic language of her people. The Gigas Crystals began to glow until sparks of energy flew off her hands. Snowflake ducked with a bolt of magic lightning passed right over her head.   
  
Suddenly the ground began to shake. Snowflake rose to her feet, still holding onto Ripto, as the ground underneath her began to buckle. Spyro launched himself into the air with his wings to avoid a rock shard sent flying from the shaking. The Guardians faded away without a trace, having overstayed their welcome. Only Changeling stood still, watching trivially as her beautifully crafted stadium began to fill with more cracks and broken rock shards.

"Time to test your abilities, pests. I have rigged my castle to explode within a small amount of time. You've proven yourself in terms of magical strength by defeating my monster of might and magic, now let's see how quick-minded you truly are. If you're not fast enough, my castle will entomb your remains for all eternity. If you do make it out..." Changeling grabbed the person closest to her, who happened to be Spyro, and held his face to hers. Her putrid breath made Spyro choke.

"Meet me at Diamond Palace."

Changeling dropped the dragon onto the ground and then held out the three Gigas Crystals in front of her. With a final parting sneer, Changeling disappeared with a sudden flash of yellow light. Spyro and Wart both cursed in unison.

"Great, this castle is going to explode with us in it, Changeling is better off then us, and we don't even know the fastest route out of here!" Spyro shouted. Panic seeped into the hearts of the creatures that heard his cry. At that moment, nothing frightened them more then a death caused by falling rubble.   
  
"Correction. I know the fastest route out of here. You forget that I've memorized the entire layout of this place while you were knocked out." Wart corrected Spyro. Wart's statement raised the hopes of his friends. All of them actually had a chance of survival after all.

"Good, so you can show us the way and-" Snowflake was cut off immediately by Wart. "No. I have to free the slaves. You have to escape without me. I promised to them that they would all make it out of here safely, and I'm not going to have the whole castle fall on top of them!" At first, Spyro, Snowflake, and Eledor thought that Wart was bluffing. A brief silence fell before they realized that he was telling the truth.   
  
"**_WHAT!?!" _**Spyro, Snowflake, and Eledor all shouted at once. To them, this act of kindness seemed like a suicide mission. Nobody knew how long Changeling gave them, and Wart was suggesting that he should journey into the castle's dungeons. They all knew exactly how far below the castle the dungeons were; when the castle collapses the dungeons will be buried under many tons of solid rock.

"Look, just run straight through that corridor. If you keep following the lit torches, you will soon find yourself at the entrance of this castle. Changeling always keeps them lit; they help her teach the new recruits how to march." Wart said as he pointed a crooked claw at an entrance. His friends all nodded to indicate that they had listened. 

"You don't need me to lead you. I have to play the hero for the first time in my life, so just try not to get killed in there."  
  
Wart turned to leave, but he was blocked by Eledor. She grabbed the dragon by his shoulders and held him still. "Oh, no you don't! You're not leaving without me!" Wart opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it when he saw the raw determination burning in the rhynoc's eyes. The mutated dragon nodded in agreement.   
  
"Okay. After all, we have been a team for a long time already. It would be a shame to break up a good partnership now..." Eledor's hands let go of his shoulders, and Wart turned his head to an unconscious Ripto, an anxious Snowflake, and a determined Spyro.

"You guys go on ahead! We'll rendezvous at the entrance! Now, GO!"  
  
The two reptiles immediately dashed into the corridors Wart indicated, both of them helping in carrying Ripto. The red-scaled form slumped against Spyro's back, with Snowflake's hand keeping him from falling off, as they followed Wart's instructions. Dust filled the air as some of the ceiling dislodged itself and rained upon the three-scaled forms running down the hallways. Snowflake shielded her eyes with her only free hand as she kept following the line of torches hung on the walls.   
  
"You know, what would happen if the ceiling suddenly collapsed in front of us?" Spyro shouted as they passed some blocked corridors along their way to the entrance. Snowflake had to squint her eyes to make out the purple shape to her right. The sound of falling rubble made even the loudest scream hard to make out, but Snowflake had heard him clear enough.

"Spyro, when you say stuff like 'I hope the ceiling doesn't crash down in front of us', it's called 'jinxing the moment'. I wouldn't be surprised if the ceiling took your suggestion and did it just right now!"

As if on Snowflake's cue, a large shower of boulders fell from the ceiling right in front of the exit out of Changeling's crumbling castle. The two dragons were blanketed with soot, and soon they were sneezing and coughing from the exposure to all the dust. Spyro glared accusingly at Snowflake and she forced an innocent-looking smile.

"I suppose unblocking the rocks shouldn't be too much of a hassle, if you like lifting individual rocks with your hands until the castle falls on top of you or you drop from exhaustion. At least they won't have to bury us when they find us!" Spyro said cynically. Standing near a pile of rubble blocking your only exit from a castle that was going to come crashing down on your pathetic body doesn't help your sense of humor at all. Snowflake shot Spyro an icy glare before she started the long process of clearing the rubble away.   
  
"You're not helping matters yourself, Spyro. Now help me dig." Spyro got up on his hind legs and began to help Snowflake clear away the rubble. Both of them worked as fast as they could, despite the fact that their sight was limited to about two feet in front of them due to the choking dust surrounding them.

They were about half way finished with the rubble clearing when the ceiling above their heads began to fall down above them. Boulders the size of SUVs began to rain down towards the hapless lizards. Snowflake and Spyro shielded their heads with their claws. The thought of Changeling discovering their broken bodies and stealing the final pieces to her world domination rang through their heads.

**"_Keeeeeeeaaaaar!" _  
  
**A large winged form suddenly swooped out of the dust cloud that was hindering Snowflake and Spyro's and put its body between the falling ceiling and the helpless reptiles. Snowflake and Spyro gazed confusedly at this strange stroke of luck that was now shielding them from the falling rock. It was a large, red bat-like creature with rows of sharp teeth, yellow eyes, and giant wings strong enough to take the abuse of the falling rock. Spyro recognized the red winged creature, but he was reluctant to acknowledge it.   
  
"...Scorch?" Spyro asked. Why was this monster, one of Sorceress' created monsters of might and magic, saving their skins? Why was Scorch here in Avalar and not out terrorizing the folks of the Forgotten Worlds?

After darting a quick, confused look at each other, the two dragons decided to make the most out of their lucky break and began to make a mad dash over the rocks and through the exit.

Snowflake and Spyro raced across the ground until they threw themselves onto the safe, flat, sandy ground out of harm's way. Catching their breath, they watched the castle in awe. For several minutes the castle quivered like a frightened animal, the roar of Changeling's magic filling the air. Finally, after felt like a horrific eternity, what Changeling had thought as the most beautiful architecture of Avalar shuddered and collapsed in on itself. The winged form of Scorch was seen flying out of the rubble, unscathed and well out of harm's way.   
  
"Well...we escaped with our lives, all thanks to an enemy of yours." Snowflake panted. Fresh air never tasted sweeter to her tongue, especially after spending a night in a dungeon and fighting a gruesome battle against one of her dearest friends.

"Don't remind me. Scorch put up a good fight. He's one of the last people I expected to appear here." Spyro said. He sat back, his yellow wings folded against his shoulders.

"Well, the only thing we can do now is wait for Wart. If he's still alive, I mean." Spyro quickly added the last sentence as if it was a very good possibility that the little warty dragon got himself killed. Snowflake shuddered at the thought; Wart seemed like such a good companion. The thought of his scaly body getting crushed by many tons of rock drove a shiver down her spine.

The three reptiles sat in the sand, waiting for Wart's return. The peaceful atmosphere of their new haven seemed too much for them, however, for soon Snowflake and Spyro drifted off into an undisturbed sleep, their wings shielding the fragile form of Ripto in their slumber.   
  


* * *

As Spyro and Snowflake made a mad dash to the exit, Wart and Eledor ran in the opposite direction to the dungeons. The magic-induced earthquake roared in their ears like a monster from another world. It didn't take long, but now they were standing four stories below the castle's heaviest foundation of rock. Both of them knew they didn't have much time.   
  
"See? I told you I'd be back." Wart said as he stepped into the dungeons. Nazza gave a half-hearted cheer. The rest of the slaves crowded to their prison cell door, all of them eager to escape from this hellhole. Wart glanced down the many hallways of prisoners and then to the rhynoc witch next to him.   
  
"Eledor, remember when we escaped from the Outlaws of the Balance and you used that spell to blast the door off its hinges? Do you think you're able to make that spell so that instead of just one target, there's about three hundred of them?" Wart calculated.   
  
"I'll see what I can do. This isn't ordinary metal, but these cells don't have a magic barrier like Jira set up in her base." Eledor stated as she ran a finger down one of the bars to Nazza and Elora's cell. Wart backed away when Eledor stood in the middle of the hallway with her wand outstretched and her eyes shut. She began to mutter in a rhynocian language. 

**BOOM! **

Every last door in the dungeon flew off its hinges and landed right in the middle of the hallway, creating many neat piles of barred doors. Nazza and Elora jumped out of their cage with a holler, and somewhere down another row of cages, Spyrius, Scott, and Spyretta did the same. The older, more damaged slaves crawled cautiously, almost reluctantly to their freedom. One of the more noticeable creatures was Moneybags, who was now reduced to a mumbling, quivering mass of abused fur. Wart took a moment to amass and count the slaves before turning to Eledor. 

"Wow, that was simply amazing Eledor! How did you do it?" The dragon cried. Eledor blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.   
  
"I didn't really cast the spell. I was halfway through the speaking portion of the spell when all the doors flew off without my help. Either I've become so skilled that magic is like air to me, or someone else did the work for me..."

"Go with the latter, Rhynoc." Eledor and Wart flinched in unison when a mysterious voice spoke behind them. They both turned their heads, and sure enough, the Purple Gigas Guardian Robin was standing behind them with her hands on her hips. Her eyes were narrowed at Wart, and he could tell that she was mad at him for losing his namesake Gigas Crystal to Changeling.

"Yes, I guess it's rather surprising to see the icy Guardian of the Balance Stone help a dragon and a rhynoc free a few flea-bitten slaves. Don't expect me to stick around much, seeing as you did lose the very Gigas Crystal I entrusted to your care!" And at the sound of her words, the sorceress vanished into thin air.

"So, what are we going to do now, Wart? In case you've forgotten, you have three hundred slaves trapped in a castle that's falling apart." Nazza explained. Wart and Eledor both gave Nazza a dirty look for even suspecting that they forgot about the spell, what with all the falling dust and rocks, and the ever-growing sound of the collapsing castle. The warty dragon stepped onto a large, fallen rock to act as a pedestal, and then shouted to all the slaves.   
  
"Okay! If you want to be free, you'd better follow me. Help the sick and the elderly by giving them a hand! C'mon!"

The air was filled with two large sounds; the sound of the ever-growing magic earthquake, and the cheer of more then three hundred slaves running to their freedom. It was a very gratifying sight to see a crowd of freedom-seeking creatures of different shapes and sizes slice through the rising dust cloud surrounding all the air in the castle. As usual, Wart led the party, his knowledge of the castle not going to waste. Eledor took up the rear to make sure that none of the slaves fell behind in the rush.

Everything went along smoothly. Soon they were all rushing through the main gate and into the fresh air of the castle. All the slaves seemed content enough on relaxing, but Wart and Eledor weren't ready to take chances. Together, they divided up the group of freed slaves and counted them all. They saw that everyone was accounted for, and just then the castle crumbled to bits.

"I'd never thought I'd see the day that castle fell to bits. After all the pain that monster put us through, it was worth it." Wart said to Eledor and Nazza as they watched Changeling's home collapse.

A loud cheer rose from the ranks of slaves standing behind them when the castle finally settled to the ground. Some of the elderly, who have lived in those dungeons since the time of Otpir's rule, were silently crying to themselves. It was a beautiful sight to see all the slaves fill with so much hope, and yet Wart was still not happy.

He looked back to the castle's debris, and said in a low voice that only himself could hear, "Let's just hope we'll live long enough to see the fall of Changeling herself..."

* * *

"Where is that sea serpent? He better not be drinking himself silly while I'm wasting time finding him!" 

As Snowflake's group ran towards one exit and Wart ran to the dungeons, Changeling glided through the rumbling corridors with an amazing grace found only in her species of cat-like creatures. Her teleportation spell had worked, and now all of her horde members were safe from harm's way. It was a simple task of simply finding the break room and teleporting all the occupants inside. Laigon, however, was not resting and joking with his fellow horde members. Changeling was now wasting her neck to save her newly appointed Second-in-Command.

'_If he's in a drunken slumber, I'm going to stuff a squirrel in him!'_ Changeling thought to herself. The villainess quickly evaded any fallen rocks in her way as she searched very room in the castle for any signs of Laigon. As she passed by pictures and sculptures that had fallen to the ground and were ground into dust by falling stones, Changeling would quickly mutter about how long it took to steal those priceless artifacts before continuing her search.

Changeling was about to give up on her search for Laigon and take off when she came up to a familiar-looking door. Laigon's room; of course he'd be hanging out there! She shoved it open by kicking its wood, and a shake from the castle walls caused the door to fall off its hinges and onto the room inside. A growl escaped her lips when she saw her Slave Master face down in a puddle of wine while his room crumbled apart around him.   
  
"Laigon! Get your scaly ass off the ground and get my stuff! This castle is exploding and I don't want my possessions to explode with it!" Changeling shouted, her voice nearly blocked out by the boom of a large stuffed reptilian head falling off the wall. Laigon didn't budge or even make so much as a snort of recognition. Confused, the cat overlord grasped Laigon by the shoulders and picked him up so that his snout brushed against her face. Her nose wrinkled; the sea serpent smelled of something foul that she couldn't quite place, until she realized...   
  
"Wart." Changeling said only the name of the creature that drugged her new second-in-command. Somehow, this wasn't a surprise to her. Wart's room was loaded with vile chemicals, but she never thought that he would use Elixir of Sleep on Laigon. A simple potion filled with fatal chemicals would've done the job, but thankfully Wart was lenient enough to spare the sea serpent's life.   
  
Placing all three Gigas Crystals to Laigon's heart, Changeling began to recite a spell that would purge all the poisons from Laigon's body. Several seconds of nothing but the sound of the castle falling apart around her reached her ears. The still form stirred, and Laigon slowly opened his heavy eyelids. The sea serpent's head snapped up when he realized he was now being held by Changeling and his tongue quickly tried to form excuses of his slumber.

"No need, Laigon. You and I both know that this was Wart's doing." Changeling explained to the dragon in a soothing tone. Laigon narrowed his eyes at the sound of Wart's name, and his form seemed to stiffen with his raw anger. Changeling set him down to the ground, despite the fact that the yellow sea dragon still was woozy from the drug.

"That little toad! When I get to him, he's going to be lucky if he has any bones left!" Laigon shouted, pumping a fist into the air. This sudden action caused him to stumble, but Changeling caught him before he could fall backwards.

"Now's not the time to be plotting revenge. When we get to the horde, we'll discuss this little idea of yours." Changeling said. If Wart, along with those pesky three reptiles and his slave Eledor, escaped from the castle with his life, then there was another way of getting rid of him. The overlord let her eyes wander down to the two scimitars hanging on Laigon's belt. They shimmered with their lethal poison, and Changeling could catch her smiling reflection in their flawless steel.

Of course, it was so obvious. Laigon and Wart hated each other. What better way of killing a useless lackey by using another lackey against him?

The three Gigas Crystals shone in Changeling's outstretched hands as she and Laigon both gave each other a scheming grin. Both of them knew what the other one was thinking, and the idea tasted sweet on their tongues. Wart was going to rue the day that he decided to mess with them.

As a bright flash of light filled the demolished room and took Changeling and Laigon with it, the demolished room was also filled with the sound of sinister laughter...

* * *

Spyro stirred slightly, and groaned when bright light penetrated his eyelids. He blinked his purple eyes and stretched his battle-weary limbs With a quick survey of his surroundings, Spyro found that he was in safe hands. The mountains were only a faded memory to the west, and now he was surrounded by sand. He knew this place, remembering what Elora had taught him about the unexplored terrain of Avalar. 

This was the Lost Desert, a place where many wars were fought in Avalar's history, from the Great Faun War hundreds of years ago to Otpir's battles only a little more then twenty years ago. To the east of this small desert lay more unexplored terrain, which could only mean one thing; they were getting closer to the Diamond Palace.

"So, you finally decided to join the living, dragon?" Spyro recognized that familiar voice anywhere. Sure enough, Ripto was standing right next to him, looking as arrogant as ever. His clothes were now mended so that they no longer were ripped at the seams. Spyro growled in annoyance at him.   
  
"Yeah, no thanks to you. If we didn't have to carry your dead weight, we would've gotten out of there faster!" Spyro yelled. Ripto's mood changed from happy to angry. Soon both of them were yelling at each other, a nice memory of the good old days.   
  
"Let's see you keep your consciousness after changing your shape twice in thirty minutes!" Ripto yelled back.

"At least my normal shape isn't extremely short like yours is." Spyro retorted.   
  
"Short!?! I'm just as tall as you are!"  
  
"My kind has a slower maturity rate then yours, you little lizard!"

"Knock it off you two!" Snowflake had joined into the argument, and like the last few times in the adventure, she was the one to stop it. Just then, Spyro noticed that they weren't the only ones in the desert.

Large, billowing tents made of animal hide surrounded them, and groups of creatures from many different species filed in and out of the tents, talking joyously and without a care in the world. Had Spyro spent more then one hour of consciousness in the presence of Changeling's army, he would've recognized the tents as the ones that her horde used during their brief stays in the Rainforest of Mist, the shores of Avalar, and the Mystic Mountains.

"So, you're finally awake!" Elora walked up to Spyro and wrapped her arms around his neck. Spyro was happy to see her, especially after he saw how bruised and battered she was back in the Mystic Mountains. With Elora here, that only meant that this camp wasn't filled with normal creatures; all these people were saved from Changeling's dungeons and now they were living in a nomad-like community all heading to the same destination. 

"So Changeling wasn't kidding when she said 'Meet me at Diamond Palace'. She really did intend for us to follow her..." Spyro thought out loud to himself.

"And follow her we shall!" Wart said as he walked up to them. He walked up to them with a sword slung over his shoulder. It seemed kind of awkward to see the normally shy dragon carry an actual weapon, but Spyro, Snowflake, and Ripto didn't bother to ask any questions.

"When we discovered you three fast asleep near the ruins of Castle Changeling yesterday, we didn't know how long you'd sleep. Lucky for us, you were only out of it for a day. We even had the Holder of the Yellow Gigas Crystal come join us."

"The Holder of the Yellow Gigas Crystal is here?" Snowflake asked. The white dragon only remembered the Yellow Gigas Crystal as one of the two that Changeling had already collected before they started this quest. The correct Holder would have no power, but he would probably know some stuff about his Gigas Crystal that no one else knew. "Where is he?"  
  
Wart pointed towards the sky behind their heads, and Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto followed his finger to a large form in the sky. It was the same monster that had saved them from a very horrible death back in the crumbling castle. Scorch landed in front of them and unfurled his giant wings in a greeting. "It's good to see you three alive." Scorch said in a gruff voice. Spyro was taken aback by this change of things.

"Hey, you can talk?" Spyro inquired. Scorch shrugged his giant wings. "Nobody said that I couldn't!"

"How did you get here? From my knowledge, the Sorceress and her goons don't travel to Avalar every chance they get." Ripto stated plainly.   
  
"Well, it's sort of a long story, but we have time to kill. Before Spyro and his group of buddies were lured into the Forgotten Worlds, I was just a normal-looking rhynoc that worked for an honest living with the Sorceress." Spyro interrupted to give a loud whoop of laughter. "Now, sometime after Ripto got defeated, the Sorceress became very interested in the land known as Avalar. She sent several troops of rhynocs to secretly explore the lands of Avalar, me being one of them. We traveled across the lands until we came to a peculiar desert. Ruins surrounded the place and we could almost hear the ghostly wail of the spirits that haunted that site. My troops chickened out, so I went on ahead."  
  
"Suddenly, I came upon this large circular room. A pillar was in the middle of the room, with a large yellow crystal imbedded in it. However, that wasn't the most interesting thing in the room. A large cluster of rocks made into the shape of a dragon surrounded the pillar in its rocky coils, and you can almost feel its lifeless stare fixated on you. As I walked closer to the yellow crystal, the dragon seemed to come alive. It growled a warning not to proceed, but I didn't listen. Maybe I was too foolhardy, for I charged right towards the crystal and grabbed it. Long story short, the dragon called me the Holder of the Yellow Gigas Crystal and then disappeared."

"The Sorceress thought that the crystal wasn't meant for someone as simple-minded as me, so she stashed it into her room. The events of the Year of the Dragon happen, and then this warty number" Scorch jabbed a wing in Wart's direction. "Comes into the Forgotten Worlds to steal the Yellow Gigas Crystal for Changeling."

"When it turned out that the Yellow Gigas Crystal was a special gem with cosmic powers, I vowed to get it back from that Changeling. I followed her but kept a safe distance. I flew over rainforests, coastlines, mountains, and finally to her castle. When I saw that you were doing the same, I kept an eye on you. Seeing you get captured was a very disturbing experience for me, because it meant that Changeling was strong enough to beat up even the great Spyro the Dragon. I waited for the right moment to help you. The fight against Ripto and Incinder went well and I decided to follow you three. When the ceiling started to collapse, well, you know the rest of the story..."

When Scorch was talking, the three reptiles were sitting in the sand and listening quite well. After a brief silence, Snowflake asked a question. "But why are you helping us? One of our friends just happened to steal the crystal from you in order to give to Changeling, and Spyro here fought against you and won!"   
  
Scorch smiled, which was somewhat intimidating with his many rows of teeth. "We all have the same enemy; it would be foolish to fight against each other. It would also be very foolish to waste your energy on an ally when tomorrow is going to be filled with bloodshed." Scorch then launched himself into the air and disappeared into the clouds.

"'Tomorrow is going to be filled with bloodshed'. What does he mean by that?" Ripto questioned, turning to the green dragon that had helped them so much in the castle. Wart looked somber, as he rubbed abrasive against the blade of the sword he was carrying.

"The Lost Desert is only half a day away from our final destination; the Diamond Palace. The only problem is, separating the palace from the desert is a grassy plain called the Blood-Soaked Plains for obvious reasons." Wart stated.   
  
"What reasons?" Snowflake said a bit cautiously.

"Well, there's a lot of history in those plains. It was there that Otpir's army slaughtered the entire army of Avalarians. It was there that the Gigas Crystals were used for their first purpose, which was to execute the worst criminals of all of Avalar." Wart stated solemnly.

His eyes started to fill with tears. "Don't you see? Every time a large group of people is led into these plains, a war starts. The land surrounding the sacred Diamond Palace is perfect for massacres and slaughters! We'll be lucky to live through tomorrow!"

"Now I know what Changeling meant when she said 'Meet me at Diamond Palace'..." Spyro said as he soaked in Wart's words. The purple dragon glanced sadly at the slaves, for he just noticed that they were all preparing weapons salvaged from Changeling's storage for a big battle. The sound of blades sharpening, arrows nocked and prepared, and shields polished and cleaned filled the air like a requiem.

And yet, none of the slaves seemed unwilling to do this act. All of them chattered happily; this was a do or die situation, and they were ready to prove themselves in the upcoming battle. Even Moneybags, who normally cared only for himself and his riches, was preparing a battle mace while muttering about creating new openings in Changeling's body to himself crazily.

"For tomorrow we're going to fight a war against her..."

* * *

**End of Chapter 13   
  
I know this chapter is dreadfully boring, but think of it as a transition between two very exciting battle-filled chapters. ****Chapter 12, there was Ripto and Incinder. Chapter 14 there's going to be sword fights, wars, and all kinds of exciting stuff like that.**

**I made Scorch's appearance by memory, and don't complain to me if he seems OOC. Scorch had no speaking lines, and all he did was fight you.**


	14. Decending into Chaos

The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 14: Falling into Chaos

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: The rating was boosted for this chapter and the next one for several reasons, one of them being character deaths. If any favorites of yours die in this chapter and the next one, I am truely sorry. (No, none of the submitted characters can die; only the characters I created.)

This chapter will have more scenes then the average chapter, most of them scenes within scenes, so don't be confused.

* * *

"Good morning, Snowflake!"

Snowflake's eyes fluttered open, and they slowly focused on Elora holding a plate with bacon and hash browns. Without rising from her cotton blankets, the white dragon told her boss to leave the plate. The faun left, and soon the smell of breakfast filled Snowflake's rough hide tent. The smell was too good to resist, and soon Snowflake was eating her food quickly while reflecting on what happened last night to herself.

All day the large group of slaves and heroes marched, but unlike Changeling, Wart was very lenient with the march. They went at a fast enough pace to make progress, but they regularly took breaks to feed starving bellies and to quench dry throats. They didn't rob any food from Changeling's extensive pantry, but Robin made herself useful by conjuring up enough food for the slaves. She was proud of Wart for saving many lives, but she still glared at him with a hate that the Lab Pet knew only the Purple Gigas Crystal could cure.

As soon as the sun went down, Wart ordered for the slaves to stop marching. Almost immediately, they hoisted up the makeshift tents and soon the small army of slaves formed a village situation of sorts. Even in the darkest of the night, the sound of laughter and song remained strong. Despite all the happiness and joy, Wart still was boss. He ordered the strongest of the freed captives to train for the upcoming battle tomorrow. The sound of swords, maces, arrows, spears, and fists were drowned out by the elderly and children chatting happily during the night, but everyone was well aware of their presence...

"I wonder what Ripto's doing." Snowflake said to herself. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the sound of Moneybags hollering in pain with Ripto's cruel laughter following answered her question. Smiling to herself, Snowflake picked up her now empty dish and stepped out of the tent.

It was only morning, and already the heat was noticeable. Compared to the brisk chill of the mountains, the reptile found this warm air a welcome change. Soon she found her friends among the freed captives in the camp. Spyro walked through the crowds of people, smiling to familiar faces and introducing himself to newcomers. Ripto, being a sadist by heart, had fun by torturing Moneybags with his scepter. Eledor, Nazza, and Elora were chatting with Robin, reassuring her of Wart's upcoming success. All in all, the large group of freed slaves seemed very relaxed, except for one thing...

"Uh, Wart? How big is Changeling's army?" Wart turned his head to look at a rather peculiar flying penguin with missile launchers on his shoulders. The dragon shrugged at Sgt. Byrd as he made the finishing touches on his sword sheathe.

"About fifteen thousand full-grown fighters, ready to spill their blood for the unspeakable tyrant. You know how big the army is; you were imprisoned in it for quite some time, remember?" Wart said in a monotone. He still didn't catch on to Sgt. Byrd's point.

"Yes, and how many troops do WE have, General?"

"Counting the new people that joined, exactly three hundred and twenty-seven..." His words came out slow and steady as he realized exactly how small his army was compared to Changeling's. At this shocking new information, Wart felt his veins turn to ice with fear. He turned to Sgt. Byrd, sweat pouring down his face. Then, all the stress made him temporarily insane.

"My God! We're outnumbered by over fourteen thousand! We'll be slaughtered, wiped out, eliminated! Changeling's going to wipe the floor with us! There won't be a drop of blood left in our-" Wart was cut off by a slap to the face. The dragon took in deep breaths as the flying penguin calmed him down.

"Get a hold of yourself, Wart! I'll be pleased to announce that backup is on the way!" Sgt. Byrd announced.

"Really? When are they coming?" Snowflake butted in. She was listening in on their conversation, and was very interesting in this shocking turn of events. Several other members of the very lacking army of freed slaves turned their attention to Sgt. Byrd.

"When I was patrolling this morning, I noticed a great army coming towards us from the North. At first, I thought it was Changeling, but then I realized that she's to the South of us. That's when I noticed that the leader of the army was a rather large fellow indeed, with a giant fin running from his forehead to his tail on his back." Sgt. Byrd explained. Snowflake racked her brain for any information on such a creature. Large creature with a giant fin on his back, possibly a sea monster of some sort...

"BANE!"

The camp was filled with cries of amazement as Bane of all people marched into the camp. His silver scales glimmered in the desert sun, making him seem out of place among the rather dull-looking tents of hide. Behind him was a well-sized army of sea dragons, rhynocs, fauns, Breezebuilders, Landblubbers, and other citizens of Avalar. Several gasps rose from the air when some large machines stomped towards them as well. They were none other then Changeling's trashed sea dragon submarines, now designed to be machines of land war. Technicians from Azura City piloted the machines, all of them trained to know every command of the unique machine they commanded.

Bane lowered his scaly head and a very familiar rhynoc hopped off his head. Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto recognized him immediately as one of the two rhynocs that let them into their household by the ocean many days ago. It was Grendor, Eledor's brother and the only villain to give up a life of villainy after only one attack by Spyro.

"Grendor!" Brother and sister reunited in a giant hug. Many questions were asked immediately by the slaves, most of them concerning Grendor's shocking appearance. The rhynocian librarian then explained why he arrived here.

"It was Bane's idea, really. He wanted to alert all of Avalar in case a full-fledged war, but I decided to expand on his idea. Since Changeling had an army, why not the good citizens of Avalar as well? Bane went to the sea dragons for help, and I rearranged that large rhynoc army I had back with I had two heads. Soon all of Avalar wanted to help, and there you have it."

"Seems that you've come in the nick of time," Wart began. "You see, we're supposed to fight Changeling's army today and-" Wart trailed off when he noticed the giant sea dragon glaring at him. The mottled green dragon let his eyes stray to the dragon's body, and he noticed faint scars that he had given him when he was escaping the Kraken's cave with Laigon and an imprisoned Eledor.

"...I see you're still mad about that whole 'Try to kill the offending sea dragon' incident." Wart said hesitantly. He backed away slowly, but Bane blocked his exit with his large right claw. Grendor approached the former lackey of Changeling with his wand outstretched. 'Man, I never get a break these days.' Wart thought to himself.

"Tell me, what's a liar and a kidnapper doing in the company of the greatest heroes of Avalar?" Grendor hissed. "Just because I've given up my ways as an evil sorcerer doesn't mean I won't have any second thoughts when I gut you alive!"

"Grendor, put your wand away." Eledor commanded. She stepped in-between the two. Wart whispered a thank-you to her as she told Grendor about everything that Wart did between his capture and now. As soon as she was finished, Grendor apologized to Wart almost reluctantly, for he was hoping to attack the jerk that gave Bane his scars. Bane listened intently, and then smiled.

"This happens to me a lot. Some lackey of an evil person is evil, but then turns out good because he or she realizes that there's a better way to live. I should know, because I was once in Wart's position. Before I was helping others, I was knocking ships over and eating the drowning people!" Bane said in a cheerful tone, although the other people among them didn't seem so happy about that new insight on Bane's life.

Grendor decided to change the subject. "Sister, while you were away, I found this book in the basement." The rhynoc handed Eledor a very worn-out book with a torn leather binding and a golden clasp holding the book together. The book was heavier then it looked, as it weighed about as much as a dictionary. Eledor squinted to read the faded out words on the cover.

"_Fire, Water, Nature, Earth, Mind, and Ice_. Is this what I think it is?" Eledor exclaimed.

"Yes. This is the most informative book on the Gigas Crystals I could find. In fact, the very creators of the Gigas Crystals wrote the first few chapters themselves." Grendor explained. Eledor immediately opened the book and let her eyes roam across the handwriting of ancient leaders. She sat down and let Wart, Ripto, Spyro, and Snowflake sneak a peek over her shoulder.

"_The Crystals of whom the elements have been infused with are now named the Gigas Crystals. Separate, they are as powerful as a very skilled magician is. Together, they could bring an entire world to its knees. There is one Gigas Crystal for every Faun Elder, which brings the count to eight." _Ripto, Snowflake, Wart, and Spyro looked very confused.

"Wait...They must've miscounted. I'm sure of it. There can't be eight Gigas Crystals, or else the GCT would've picked them up!" Snowflake shouted. Eledor continued reading.

"_Because of the dangerous nature of Life and Death, the Black and White Gigas Crystals can only be summoned when the six Gigas Crystals are brought together. This is to keep one with a greedy heart from obtaining magic most foul_." Eledor recited from the book.

"Of course! That's what it said in Changeling's book, only it said '_When the six Gigas Crystals are brought together, you shall obtain the power of Life and Death_.' Changeling saw this as a power the Gigas Crystals created, not as two different Gigas Crystals altogether!" Wart exclaimed. Now, the whole camp was listening in on their conversation. People crowded against each other just to get a glimpse of the old knowledge contained within.

"Wait...If there were eight Gigas Crystals instead of six, why didn't any of the Guardians mention anything?" Spyro asked.

"We were kept as much in the dark as you creatures were." Robin stated her hands on her hips. She didn't look particularly pleased about this turn of events, and neither did Grunge and Kraken. Incinder preened his fiery feathers, uninterested at the news. The large stone dragon that Scorch named as Fissure shifted his granite wings uncomfortably.

"These special Gigas Crystals have no Guardians or Holders, or else we would've detected them." Behind her, several other Guardians chattered in agreement. Kraken started muttering under his breath about "hidden prettiesssss".

"But, if they don't have Guardians or Holders, how can they be Gigas Crystals at all?" Snowflake asked. This whole month of recovering Gigas Crystals from magical Guardians taught her one thing; Gigas Crystals had a large monster to protect them, and a person that was able to command the magic within.

"The Guardianssss and the holderssss were Optir'sssss creation. The Gigassss Crysssstalssss have been around ssssince before I wassss even born!" Kraken hissed in reply. Considering that the Kraken is the older brother of the aged High Chieftain Moss of Azura City, that was saying a lot.

"And the Holders were created so that no one could the same as Optir, which is collect every one and be the Holder of them all." Grunge finished. Wart muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like "but that didn't stop her from trying!" But other then that, they let the discussion end.

Eledor was about to close the book, when Snowflake noticed something in the binding. The dragon quickly snatched it away from the rhynoc's hands to look at something scribbled on the inside of the binding. The sun caught the light of elegant cursive written in silver ink. When the white dragon read the words on the binding, she almost dropped the book in shock.

_

* * *

_

To my granddaughter,

You will probably never find this book, but my heart still goes out to you. By the time you read this, I will already be gone like the last of the Elders. The thought of never seeing you grow up brings tears to my eyes, but I must keep strong as I write this. As I write this, the Riptoc menace is tearing at the Diamond Palace doors for the Gigas Crystals.

The reason you are of Mage blood is because of me. And because of my powers, I had to leave my family, my children, my home, and you just to escape them. What I did was wrong, for now I'm going to die here in a world I wasn't born in, surrounded by creatures I'm not familiar with, guarding a magic I can't bring myself to worship, facing a danger I would never dream of existing.

Fate will bring you here. The elders themselves said it would. I am very sorry I had to bring you into such a vile twist of events. I shall always love you and my daughter Tide.

* * *

"Snowflake, are you all right?" Ripto asked. The dragon said nothing as she held the old book. Her numbed fingers let the book slide out of her hands and onto the hot sand. _'It couldn't be. It's impossible!' _Snowflake thought frantically as she took a peak at the name of the person who wrote a pledge to her those many years ago, telling her that it was more then luck that brought her into this world of Gigas Crystals, giant monster guardians, and the people that protected sacred gems with their life.

The signature at the bottom of the binding was that of her deceased grandmother...

* * *

Only several miles south of the camp filled with freed slaves and recruited soldiers, Changeling's army sat. Morning was different for the bloodthirsty beasts. Instead of cheerful conversation and the sound of laughter filling the air, the atmosphere buzzed with curses, insults, and the sound of a weaker lizardman getting beat up by something larger then it.

Changeling watched the action in front of her with boredom. She knew that the army of her runaway slaves was just to the north of her, and she didn't care. As much as she felt tempted to, armies always battled for the Gigas Crystals in the Blood-Soaked Plains in front of the Diamond Palace. It was the law, and Changeling felt it was best to follow it. Slaying Wart's new army seemed too easy; she wanted a challenge to go with her world domination.

Beside her, the new Second-in-Command rubbed his scimitars with his specially designed poison. A devilish grin crossed his lips as he watched the sunlight dance off his lethal blades. He couldn't wait until the moment that his scimitars sliced through the flesh of his enemy. Laigon's mouth watered as he thought about the after-battle feast he would have. His species of sea serpent always ate their fallen opponents and since they were immune to the poisons of their weapons, they often ate while their victim was still warm.

"May I murder the little slime ball now?" Laigon asked, referring to Wart in the cleanest possible way before his mistress. Changeling let her gaze fall upon Laigon. She looked to the north and grinned.

"Of course. We'll make it a formal invitation, a one on one battle. If Wart refuses, he dies right where he stands." Changeling explained. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled shrilly. Almost instantly, a large dragon covered in chain mail landed in front of her. The black-scaled beast lowered its horned head to the ground, allowing Laigon to climb onto its back. Without any further hesitation, the dragon launched itself into the air and towards the camp.

"May the spirits of my ancestors guide my blades through the stomach of my foe." Laigon chanted to himself as the dragon glided effortlessly across the sands of the desert. Finally, after only a few minutes, Laigon spotted the camp ahead. He instructed the dragon to fly just above the campers' heads as he shouted an invitation to them.

"Betrayers and runaways! I come looking for the little bastard of which you call Wart!" Laigon shouted. Wart ran out of the camp in an instant, his sheathed sword banging on his back with each step. Laigon brought the dragon down to ground right in front of the former Lab Pet of Changeling.

"What do you want, Laigon?" Wart shouted, his voice dripping with venom. Laigon smirked as he stepped off the large dragon. The freed slaves all watched the sea serpent cautiously as if suddenly he would regain control of them any minute now.

"I want only to fight you. It'll be a very even one on one match. You refuse my offer, and I kill you right here." Laigon hissed. At the sound of the death threat, Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto rushed out to meet Laigon, but Wart held them off.

"No, this is between him and me." Wart said to his friends. He turned his attention to the sea serpent in front of him. "And what do I win if I beat you?"

"You win nothing except your life. This is a fight to the death. The winner is the one with the soaked blade, or blades in my case. I win, you die. You win, I die. What do you say?" Laigon answered. At the sound of this, several people in the camp pleaded for Wart to back down. This made the sea serpent very amused. '_So, the little traitor is popular with the slaves. Heh, that means that they'll be even more crushed when I murder him...' _Laigon thought to himself.

Wart ignored them as he considered the deal. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmmm...I fight you, I have a chance of dying. If I back down, I die anyways." The green dragon shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, you have a deal."

Laigon smiled, hiding his dark thoughts. '_You've just signed your will, Toad.' _"Okay, we'll fight right here at this very spot. You have five minutes to mentally prepare yourself for-"

"Oh, I don't need to prepare, Laigon. I've been waiting to fight you since the day you sneered at my higher rank." Wart retorted.

And so, the arena was made. The same dragon that brought Laigon to the camp was the one to create the crude battleground. It hovered a few inches off the ground as it dragged a claw through the grit, drawing the line between the crowd and the combatants. In less then a minute, a perfect circle wide enough for decent fighting space was made. The occupants in the camp soon surrounded the battleground. Bane, since he was much taller then the other creatures in the army, was a convient seat for Snowflake, Spyro, Ripto, Eledor, and Grendor to use.

Scorch landed right near the sea dragon and folded his wings against his chest. "Do you think Wart stands a chance against that big blowhard?" Scorch asked Bane. The sea dragon said nothing, but instead kept his eyes riveted on the arena in front of him.

The crowd parted, revealing Laigon. He walked proudly into the circle, ignoring the boos and death threats issued by some of the more abused slaves. The sea serpent also ignored the burning sensation in his tail when Spyro launched a fireball at him. When he was fully in the battle ring, he launched an insult to his opponent, who was still standing in the crowd.

"What's a weak little dragon like you going to do to me? You're an egghead not fit for fighting; I'm a fighter fit for killing creatures that get in Changeling's way." Laigon pulled his scimitars free from his belt and juggled them in the air several times to prove his point. The light shimmered off his blades unnaturally, reminding Wart that he wasn't fighting a normal creature with normal weapons. He was fighting a monster mad with jealously with poisoned blades to serve his every whim.

And yet, Wart wasn't afraid. He was tired of running from his fears, so now he was going to face them. Bile rose to his throat and sweat beaded on his forehead, but Wart refused to back away. His clawed feet made unique marks in the sand as he stepped towards the sea serpent and into the arena. His friends watched as Wart unfolded his wings and called out a taunt to his opponent.

"All the creatures I've seen you slaughter were innocent creatures running for their lives, dying elderly gasping for their final breath, and young children just because they sneezed while you were talking. Changeling never ordered you to kill those people, and yet you did so just to watch the blood run down your blades. You're no fighter; you're a butcher. I'm here to show you the difference."

Wart unsheathed his weapon, a sword that once owned by his father. It was a simple but strong blade that was both durable and light. Spyro in particular noticed how much Laigon's beautifully curved scimitars outclassed Wart's simple sword, for he lowered his head as if he was already attending his friend's funeral.

"You call that a fighting blade? That little toothpick isn't fit for chopping vegetables!" Laigon joked. And suddenly, without warning, Laigon launched himself at Wart with his blades outstretched. The dragon was caught off-guard, but he dodged the sea serpent without a mark on his body. Wart tumbled through the sand, a bit shaken but otherwise okay.

"You jerk!" Wart shouted as he regained composure. "You were supposed to give some sort of a signal before you start the fight!"

"Signals are for nerds. A real fighter is prepared for anything!" Laigon dove again for Wart, but this time Wart was ready for him. The dragon held up his blade like a shield, and the scimitars bounced off the tempered steel. Venom flew off the Slave Master's blades when the three blades clashed against each other.

"Heh, so you do have a little fight in you. I thought the only thing you were good for is testing potions and DNA." Laigon said casually. _Clang! _Another attack was blocked by Wart.

"Thanks." Wart commented sarcastically. _Clink! _Laigon was becoming frustrated by Wart's ability to block his moves. "My Dad was one of the better fighters in the rhynoc army, and he taught me most of what I know!"

This display of blocking attacks continued for quite some time. The Slave Master was more then a little irritated that any advance made on his foe resulted in his scimitars blocked by the dragon's sword. Spyro smiled; Wart wasn't outclassed at all, but rather perfectly matched. Laigon had the better weapons and skills, but he just wasn't as calm and collected as Wart was. Every time an attack was blocked, Laigon became more frustrated.

Finally, after a few minutes of such display, Laigon roared with anger and slashed downward with both scimitars outstretched. Wart was ready for him; with a quick stroke of his blade, both of Laigon's scimitars went sailing into the air. They buried themselves in the sand inches away from Bane's feet. For a moment, the sea serpent was completely vulnerable.

"Go ahead. Pick them up. Unlike you, I let my opponents have a second chance." Wart growled. The crowd watched as the serpent was humiliated in front of the creatures he once tormented. A sneer appeared on the serpent's lips.

"Wart! Look out!"

Wart saw Laigon leap at him with both of his scimitars outstretched for his flesh. The dragon panicked, but he saw that he couldn't block Laigon's attack without snapping his blade. As a last resort, Wart outstretched his arm holding his sword blade and closed his eyes as if waiting for the end.

"ARGH!"

Wart felt a heavy weight fall on his outstretched arm. He slowly opened his eyelids, and was disgusted to see Laigon transfixed on his blade. The sea serpent's head flopped uselessly forward and leaked crimson blood onto the sand. Numbed fingers dropped both scimitars into the sand, where they fell into the growing puddle of blood. His wild brown eyes, usually filled with hate, were now clouding with death. Despite all this, the sea serpent was still somewhat alive, as he slowly raised his head to meet Wart's eyes, and said his final words.

"Y-You.... Will p-pay.... For thissssss...." The sea serpent hissed, his voice as soft as a kitten's mew. Laigon tried to rise again, but the last of his life left him. With a strangled gurgle, the yellow Slave Master became limp and fell backwards to the ground, Wart's blade still embedded in his stomach. More blood fell out of his body, and soon a crimson pool of the sea serpent's life force surrounded his body. Wart's eyes watered from the smell. He couldn't bear to look at the corpse as the slaves cheered.

"Wow, you've driven that sword so far through his body that it's stuck in his spine! How did you do it?" Spyro said after he had the nerve to step closer to the body. Wart half-heartedly shrugged. The Lab Pet still couldn't believe that he killed someone in that manner. He turned his head to once again look at the crumpled body of Laigon.

"Bury him."

"What? Are you nuts? That jerk doesn't deserve a decent burial! I say we leave him out for the buzzards to pick his bones!" Ripto suggested. The other slaves agreed with hushed tones. Moneybags, still halfway out of his mind, had the gall to poke Laigon's body repeatively with a large stick.

"You heard what I said! I murdered him and stained the sand with his blood! The least I could do is make sure that his body got a decent burial..." Wart snapped at the Riptoc, delirious by the fact that he was now a cold-blooded killer.

The last-minute funeral was performed right there where Wart had slain Laigon. The one responsible for the Slave Master's death was also the one responsible for Laigon's grave. Wart dug a very deep but crude hole right where Laigon had fallen. The freed slaves, Bane and Grendor's army, and Wart's close friends all watched as the dragon gently placed Laigon's limp body and covered the hole. The dragon held up Laigon's poisoned scimitars into the air and let them catch the sunshine with their shiny surface.

"I know you weren't the nicest of sea serpents and I know you tried to kill me, but no one deserves to die the death that you suffered. Maybe, if Fate was kinder to both of us, we've would've been friends. Friends...." And with his words, Wart took the twin blades and sunk them point first into the sand, creating a grave marker.

"What an honor. It's such a shame that Laigon was not the guy to have acknowledged such an act of kindness..." Snowflake said as she patted Wart on the shoulder. While this gesture was somewhat cheering, the dragon still couldn't smile. He looked into the horizon, just spying the faint image of the Diamond Palace. Diamond Palace; the place where the Gigas Crystals rightfully belonged.

"Laigon's death is the first death of many that we'll see today. Let's just hope we'll live through this nightmare..."

* * *

After Laigon's funeral, Wart and Bane's combined army began marching again. It took half the day, just like Wart had said, but as soon as the sun was in its afternoon position, the sand had faded away and revealed a beautiful marvel.

Everyone in the army gasped as they stood there in awe. In front of them was an extensive area of flat land covered in thick grass. The emerald blades swayed in the hot desert air, making the plains look more like a haven of peace then the sight of many gruesome deaths. This was the Blood-Soaked Plains all right, but what was strange was the ground beneath the scenery. Instead of rich brown soil, the ground was crimson red. It was eerily symbolic; the ground beneath many wars and battles was stained red with the ancient blood of the dead.

If the Blood-Soaked Plains were a thing to gape at, the Diamond Palace was something purely magical. A large castle sat at the very end of the grass, shining brightly in the sun. True to its name, the palace was made out of solid diamond reinforced by the magic of the Faun Elders. The result; the building looked as fragile as glass, and yet stood up against the harshest of elements. The palace was a glittering marvel that seemed too beautiful to even be real. Some of the fighters in the army, including the three that had collected the three Gigas Crystals during their journey, found themselves wondering if they were even looking at something solid and not a mirage.

"These beautiful plains weren't always called the Blood-Soaked Plains. They were mostly known as the Emerald Plains at some time, before the Gigas Crystals and before all this bloodshed..." Heads turned, and realized that the solemn voice belonged to Bane. The dragon twitched his tail behind him like an irritated cat.

"It's sad to see a land born in peace now used to conduct battle. It's enough to make a sea serpent ill!" Bane said, stomping a large fin to the ground to prove his point. Sgt. Byrd landed on one of Bane's broad shoulders.

"Speak of the devil, here comes Changeling..." Sgt. Byrd whispered into his ear. The penguin pointed a wing to the left of them, and they saw a sight that they were prepared for. Fifteen thousand monsters ready to fight for Changeling, and the evil creature herself standing in front of all of them. She silently signaled to one of the monsters behind her, and soon a quadruped dragon ran up to her with a saddle on its back. Changeling mounted the beast and directed it towards the army of freed slaves and recruited fighters.

"I didn't expect for you to get this far, my slimy reptiles. You've escaped my castle, recruited enough fighters to almost match my own, crossed the desert, and even killed my newly appointed Second-in-Commander. I'd give you a round of applause if I weren't so irritated right about now!" Changeling hollered. Spyro found that this was a good time to mock the villainess.

"Well, that's what you get when you underestimate your foes, Changeling." Spyro mocked. The dark-furred cat pointed a filed claw at him.

"If I didn't have such powerful will power, I'd be strangling the breath out of you right now, you purple salamander! Remember that I have imprisoned you like a circus animal once, and I can just as easily do it again!" The force of her voice drove Spyro back a few steps, but he still held his ground. He growled several insults under his breath as Changeling turned her attention to Wart.

"You have two hours to prepare your army, Toad. If you are even a second late, my army will be instructed to slice you to bits. I'll be waiting..." And with that, Changeling and her beast of burden darted across the grass and dunes to prepare her army. Only the wind greeted the ears of the reptiles afterwards.

"Geez...She's a bigger bitch then I imagined her to be." Grendor spoke rather uncharacteristically as they stood knee deep in grass. Wart looked back to all the slaves, rhynocs, sea dragons, fauns, and Avalarian fighters and took a deep breath. Then, he shouted to the army with a voice that carried over the plains.

"Okay! We have two hours to prepare, so I want all the fighters to fine-tune their body and weapons! This is the moment we've been waiting for, everyone! Changeling and her goons have kicked us around like broken down animals for way too long, and now she wants to do the same thing to every last citizen in Avalar. Will we allow this?"

"NOOOO!" The army cheered. The loudest cheers came from the slaves and the Gigas Crystals holders, who knew just how mean the villainess was in terms of cruelty. Wart felt very good inside; only a month ago, he was the hated lackey of Changeling that never got so much as a pat on the back if he did something right. His spirit taking control of his voice, the dragon prepped the fighters on.

"Then clean those blades, nock those bows, polish those shields, and rest those muscles! We're going to show that cat just what happens when you kick around an Avalarian!"

* * *

Eledor looked down once again at the old volume of _Fire, Water, Nature, Earth, Mind, and Ice_. The rhynoc realized exactly how valuable this book was. The only piece of truth among the fragments of lies spread about the Gigas Crystals. As she flipped through the pages in search of any information on the Emerald plains, she spied something very weird written near the back on the book, where the index should've been.

If you manage to fail on your quest,  
And soon suffer the most dire loss.  
Avalar would then suffer its death,  
And turn to the Realms of Chaos...

_

* * *

_

Tiddy tiddy boom. Tiddy tiddy boom.

A single snare drum played by Scott sounded through the air, playing the beat of which the army now named The Peacekeepers would march by. Soon, the melodious sound of the snare was followed by the sound of over thirty thousand feet marching across the ground. Fifteen thousand fighters all armed to the teeth marched in rhythm to the beat. The sun glistened on their armor-wearing bodies like a thousand gems.

In the very front was Spyro, Ripto, Snowflake, the original three Gigas Crystal holders that started this quest, and the unofficial leader of the army, Wart. All four of them were armed with lightweight leather armor, for scales doubled as a natural armor. Wart lifted up the visor on his head to look at his three friends and whispered the plan to them as they slowly marched to Changeling.

"Here's the plan. We meet up with Changeling's army. She's planning on cutting us down with sheer force, but I'll issue a challenge for her. I'm going to challenge her to a sword fight before the war starts." Wart instructed. His friends were shocked at Wart's new change of heart. The steady _tiddy tiddy boom _of the snare drum echoed through their bodies as they try to talk him out of it.

"Wart! You've been out in the sun too long! You can't challenge Changeling; she'll cut you down like a ripe tomato!" Ripto shouted. Wart frowned down at his reflection in his blade. He could still catch the hint of Laigon's blood on his blade, and he knew that no amount of cleaning would ever remove the fact that he had killed someone in cold blood that day. He looked into Ripto's eyes, and a cocky grin appeared on the dragon hybrid's face.

"That's okay...because I don't plan on winning." Wart said solemnly.

"...You're committing suicide? But Wart-" Snowflake was cut off immediately.

"No 'but's! The sword fight is a distraction! You run to Diamond Palace as fast as possible while Changeling and me are killing each other! It doesn't matter whom wins, because the outcome is the same. Either way, you'll be at Diamond Palace before that tyrant..."

"Sounds good to me." Spyro said with a broad smile on his face.

"Spyro, don't encourage him! This plan is a load of-" Snowflake's statement was cut short when the snare drum stopped. Both armies were standing within a few feet of each other. The Peacekeepers on one side of the Emerald Plains, and Changeling's Fiends on the other side. Once again, Changeling rode towards the army of once tortured creatures with the same dragon beast of burden carrying her.

"So, are you ready to lose?" Changeling asked. Wart swallowed the rising bile to his throat and tried to make his voice as confident as possible.

"No. In fact, I want to issue a challenge to you that you can't refuse. How's about you and me settle scores with each other before the war?" Wart asked. Changeling cocked her head to one side in amusement.

"Hmmm...You must've discovered the sweet nectar of bloodlust. I bet killing Laigon made you feel good, my scaly punching bag." Changeling hissed. Wart nodded in response. Changeling then smirked. "I guess I can't refuse a challenge. Army, the war will wait! Watch as me and Wart battle for the last time!"

Just like in the battle against Laigon, the large group of battle-ready creatures formed a ring around Wart and Changeling. Against Changeling's back, the hollers of her followers cheered her on. Against Wart's, his friends screamed cheers and chants to back him up. He turned to Spyro, his face a mask of confidence.

"You and your friends Snowflake and Ripto will wait at the very edge of the battle ring, but keep at least a few bodies between you and the Diamond Palace so that Changeling doesn't get suspicious. When I shout 'You're going to drag us all down into chaos!' you run like the devil himself is pursuing you. Don't look back! Understand?" Wart explained to Spyro. The dragon only nodded.

"Good. Best of luck." And then Wart walked towards the center of ring, just like before. He knew that while being scratched by Changeling's weapons wouldn't kill him like with Laigon, Changeling was a more skilled fighter. The dragon swallowed more rising bile down his throat when Changeling chose her weapon; a beautiful but deadly blade dyed turquoise by magic. Changeling approached Wart, her face a fatal sneer.

"What gives you the gall to do this stuff to me? You betrayed me, you've protected Azura City against me, you've freed all my slaves, and killed my best Slave Master!" Changeling made the first attack, but Wart was able to block the attack with his blade.

"What gave you the gall to lie to me and my family, change me into a monster, and treat me like a sack of dirt?" Wart then countered her attack. Changeling cried in pain when Wart nicked her right arm, but then she launched an attack of her own and drove her sword right through his tail. Both crowds gasped and cheered as the person they cheered for got hurt and scored hits.

This exchange of banter continued just as long as the battle against Laigon did, only instead of blocking attacks, Wart was exchanging them. He was a whole different person now; all the pain suffered during his stay with Changeling fueled his body with an energy he never believed to exist. His blood was now staining the ground around him, but Wart refused to give in. He wouldn't give up now.

On the other hand, Changeling was a lot more skilled in fighting then Laigon was. She knew all of Wart's counters and all of his strikes. If Wart gave her a little scratch on her arm, she would drive her blade through a body part that would both draw blood and cause extreme pain. She had about thirty more years of experience then Wart did, and it showed.

"Why don't you just take a dive and let me win, Wart? It will save you the pain..." Changeling observed. Changeling had only a few scratches on her body, but Wart looked worse for the wear. One of his ears had been ripped clear off his head, the tip of his tail was chopped off, and his wings were beyond repair. The dragon winced as he moved his pounding head to look into Changeling's eyes. His neon yellow eyes narrowed.

"And give you the satisfaction of defeat? I don't think so!" Wart then dived forward, a battle cry rising to his lips. His blade did its first real damage; it embedded itself into Changeling's long tail. In self-defense, the cat slashed wildly with her sword. Both crowds screamed in horror.

"GAH!" Wart screamed as he felt steel penetrate the webbing of his right wing. Changeling smiled at her handiwork; his wing was sliced right down to the bare foundations. Wart knew that now he was unable to fly and never will. The dragon hybrid hissed in pain, and then locked blades with Changeling. Their snouts were inches away from touching.

"You were always weak, Toad. You were nothing more then a large guinea pig to me. No one is worth listening to if he believes the lies that a villain makes!"

Changeling then pushed Wart backward with all her might. The dragon gave a feeble flap with his shredded wings before falling on them, cracking all the bones inside of them. Despite all the pain rushing through his body, Wart was able to shout one thing. "You're going to...drag us all down into chaos!"

"That's the signal!" Spyro whispered to his arch-nemesis and the snow-white dragon. Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto then slowly crept around the large lizardmen surrounding them until nothing but a large field separated them from their goal. Giving one last parting look to their friend Wart, the three reptiles ran as fast as their legs could allow to their final goal; the Diamond Palace.

Time seemed to freeze. Wart turned his head to watch the three reptiles run for their lives and temporarily let his guard down. Changeling caught the opening, and with a quick movement of her arms, plunged her large sword into Wart's unprotected belly. A scream rose from the throats of some of the freed slaves, including Eledor, Bane, Grendor, and Nazza.

Wart suddenly felt a strong, stinging pain in his stomach. He slowly looked down, almost dreamlike, at the large sword blade sticking out of his stomach. The little dragon swayed slightly, almost confused at the large gaping hole in his body. Changeling sneered at her former lackey, but her sneer disappeared when the dragon lifted his head to meet hers.

"Thank you...for releasing me..." Wart's eyes were not filled with pain and confused disbelief, but rather they were calm. The dragon had accepted of his fate, and had meddled with Changeling's plans for the last time. With a final sigh, the dragon slid backwards off her blade and was dead right before his body hit the ground.

"See what becomes of you when you get in the way of-" Changeling cut her taunt off when she noticed that Wart's corpse was smiling. A shiver traveled down her spine, and she temporarily went insane.

"STOP MOCKING ME!" Changeling's bloodstained blade rose into the air, ready to disembowel the body in front of her...

"_Keeeeeeeaaaaar! _This is for Wart and my stolen crystal, you fiend!" Changeling flew several feet off the ground when Scorch's talons hit her with a sickening thwack. The cold-blooded murderer sailed across the arena and tumbled into her horde. Taking this moment of confusion in his own hands, Scorch lifted the limp body of Wart with his claws and carried him away from the slicing blades of the horde.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" Changeling screeched. The army that the cat commanded immediately sprang into action. What was once an area where only two people thought became a melee of slashing blades. Snarls, growls, and grunts filled the air to make the music of war.

But the Peacekeepers were ready. Bane, now the new unofficial leader of the Peacekeepers, shouted commands to his followers as he slashed at battlers with his claws. The sea dragon machines held their own against the battle with their lasers and missiles. Moneybags, delirious from a month of captivity, slashed and clawed at anybody who got near him.

There was no denying it. The War of the Gigas had just begun...

* * *

Changeling wiped the blood off her mouth with the back of her right hand. She stood at the very edge of the carnage, away from all the bloodshed that she caused. The cat started to rise to her feet.

"Well, I did accomplish one thing today. I did kill that-" Changeling stopped herself when she looked into the distance and at Diamond Palace. She saw the faint outlines of three creatures running for their lives towards the building. Changeling hissed like the feline she was; it was the three reptiles that had stolen her Gigas Crystals in the first place.

"So, Wart. You had to sacrifice yourself to buy them some time, eh? Well, it's such a shame that you didn't help matters at all..."

Changeling picked up the three Gigas Crystals lying in the grass next to her and put them back in her containment pouch and then reached for her sword. And then, with a holler that was inhuman, Changeling dashed after her prey. She snarled at them even though they were too far away to here, her lust for power temporarily making her insane.

"You can't run forever, maggots! The death of your warty friend isn't going to help you! I'll kill you all; I'll make sure of that!"

**

* * *

**

End of Chapter 14

The next chapter is none other then the very last. Yes, ladies and gents, The Realms of Chaos is coming to a close.

Please, no flames just because your favorite character died. If you loved this story's last 13 chapters and only hate it now just because Laigon and Wart kicked the bucket, you shouldn't even read this! I don't exactly see J.K. Rowling's books being burned because Sirius Black is dead!

Chapter 15 will include the legendary Gigas Crystal of Life and the Gigas Crystal of Death. It will also be the very last chapter. I had fun spending an entire year writing this story, and I'm sure you're all very sad that this story will soon end...


	15. Gigas Destruction

**The Realms of Chaos**

**Chapter 15: Gigas Destruction**

**Rating: High PG**

**Author's Notes: Yes, this is the final chapter. 15 chapters, one year of writing this story, has finally come to an end.**

**

* * *

**

In-between the din of two armies killing each other and a palace unspoiled by the world around it, three reptiles raced for their lives. Snowflake, Ripto, and Spyro, now using the time that Wart has bought for them with his final breath, bounded across the soft carpet-like grass of the plains beneath them. They only slowed down when they heard the cry of several people at once. That told them that Wart, a creature they barely knew, was dead at the hands of Changeling.

"I swear, when I get my claws on that cat, I'll-" Spyro hissed. Snowflake stopped him for he could say anything nasty, despite the fact that she was thinking the same thing.

"No time to swear now, Spyro. If we don't keep Wart's promise, his death will be in vain..." Snowflake said, her head turned to watch the chaos as she raced forward. Even though Wart warned about looking back, the white dragon could not help but watch Scorch carry the body of one of her new friends away from the slashing swords.

"He was such a good friend. He didn't deserve to die like that..." Snowflake couldn't help but state as they came ever closer to the beautifully sculptured Diamond Palace. The sun glistened on the magical gemstones that crafted the building.

"Didn't deserve to die? He threw himself onto Changeling's sword willingly, for crying out loud! I say he wanted to die. After all, suicide is still a very plausible concept in a dragon's mind..." Ripto replied. The surface underneath their feet changed from soft grass into hard tile. Neither Snowflake nor Spyro answered Ripto when they considered Wart's fate, so the only sound that accompanied the conversation was the steady clicking of their claws hitting the tiles.

In the speed that they raced up the ornate steps of the palace, the three heroes didn't even notice that the tiles depicted images of the Gigas Crystals and their elements with amazing craftsmanship. Nor did they notice the beautiful diamond statues of fauns and dragons in stolid tranquility. The Diamond Palace was truly a work of art, but beauty is such a trivial thing when death was on your tail.

"Well, this is it. I hope you two are prepared..." Spyro stated as they stepped into the palace. Inside the Diamond Palace was a giant circular room that took up most of the building's space. The reptiles had to strain their necks in order to see the skylight hundreds of feet above them. The room was designed so that, even though the room had a simple shape, it was nothing but simple. The wall was covered with stories written in ancient Avalarian, engravings of monsters fighting brave knights, and notes weaving a song long forgotten.

The three let their eyes stray down in unison to the middle of the room. Six identical podiums, each with a Gigas Crystal-shaped hole at the top, surrounded the middle of the room in a wide circle. The podiums were designed like Roman pillars with the precise form that only a master sculpture could create. The circle of podiums surrounded a large hole that was as big as the skylight, and down on the ground, the trio of reptiles could see that someone Bane's size wouldn't have any trouble falling through the hole.

"...Sweet Elders above..." Spyro whispered. The hole in the floor led to a dark, swirling pool of Avalar's uncontrollable magic. The air around this cauldron of magic bristled with a strange static-like power. Even Ripto, who tried to pass off as not afraid of strange things, backed slowly away from the pit filled with untamed magic.

"So that's what they did with the leftovers of the Gigas Crystals..." Ripto tried to pass off his nervousness as a joke, but Snowflake and Spyro could tell that he was scared. And he had reason to; Spyro remembered a time when Elora lectured him about the raw and unalterable magic still lurking in Avalar.

"This, my friends, is what's left of the ancient magic that shaped Avalar's past and what created the Gigas Crystals." Spyro explained, switching into lecture mode. "It swirls forever in the confines of Diamond Palace, contained in this very pit to prevent it from escaping. This magic is so strong that no one knows what it could do to you if you decide to jump in."

Spyro then smirked playfully. "Let's find out by tossing Shorty into it."

"Not if I toss you in first!"

Snowflake rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. One month of traveling across Avalar and they were still fighting like any good rival should. She watched as Ripto chased after Spyro with the Red Gigas Crystal glowing red in his specter and then remembered the task they had to do.

"You can test the raw magic of Avalar with your bodies when Changeling isn't trying to kill us. We have to get our Gigas Crystals into the pedestals so that no one can use them for evil!" She shouted.

"That's a fine idea Snowflake, but where do we put our Gigas Crystals in?" Spyro asked. "Magic can be very chaotic if you start sticking things into places they don't belong. Something as powerful as our Gigas Crystals must have some sort of order to them..." He led their attention to the podiums again. There was a moment of silence as the three studied the imposing structures of rock, before Snowflake let out a giant sigh.

"Great. I always did stink at puzzle solving..." She approached a podium, and spent a moment studying the handiwork. It looked exactly the same as its brethren, only Snowflake noticed something scratched right in front of the Gigas Crystal shaped hole. She traced a claw over the writing. It was written in a language not her own, and yet she could suddenly read it.

"...Tranquility..."

Snowflake read out loud. A tingling sensation filled her chest, and the white dragon noticed that her Gigas Crystal was glowing more brightly then before as a result from Snowflake touching the podium. With a shrug of her shoulders, the dragon unlocked the crystal from her necklace and placed it into the hole.

"Aaaaah!"

Snowflake was knocked back suddenly by a powerful force. The Green Gigas Crystal spurted green rays of light everywhere, reacting to the podium. And then, with a final crackle of magic, silenced. Snowflake smiled to Spyro and Ripto. "Well, at least we know how to figure out the puzzle now." With a nod of agreement, the two male lizards went to separate podiums to test the Gigas' magic. After two tries, Spyro found the Blue Gigas' rightful podium.

"...Bravery..."

The Gigas Crystal that Kraken once coveted with a thirsty greed now was sealed in the podium, first sending a beam of blue light and then silencing like Snowflake's Gigas Crystal.

"...Persistence..."

The Gigas Crystal that was Ripto's birthright and what Incinder was destined to guard came off the sorcerer's scepter and lay in the very place it was supposed to belong to. Ripto gave a sad look to his scepter, now nothing more then a golden wand with no powers whatsoever in its working.

"Well, that's three down..." Snowflake murmured. Spyro and Ripto both cheered, celebrating a moment of happiness together. None of them seemed to notice that they left a minor detail out until all three of them glanced at the empty three podiums in unison.  
  
"Oh no. We need the other three Gigas Crystals!" They cried out in unison. Only then did they realize that Wart's plan wasn't entirely foolproof. He had thought of a way to get the first three Crystals into Diamond Palace, but sadly, he had forgotten that you needed all six to lock the Crystals away from Changeling's grasp.  
  
"Yes. And guess who has them!"  
  
The three heroes felt their blood turn to ice. Changeling stomped confidently up the steps, her robes billowing dramatically against the wind. None of the insanity that seized her in the plains showed anywhere in her body except for her eyes, which glowed unnaturally with pure malice and bloodlust. The would-be heroes all narrowed their eyes when they saw her carry a turquoise sword with her. It still dripped with Wart's blood. With her, the three remaining Gigas Crystals glowed in a combined beacon of light that signaled the end for the three of them.

'_It's going to be okay. She probably doesn't know about the little detail we learned back in the camp._' Spyro thought to himself.  
  
"You lizards really think that I don't know about the seventh and eighth Gigas Crystal? I've seen them myself around twenty years ago, shortly before I killed Otpir. It was Wart that assumed that there were only six of them, and he paid for his shortsightedness with his life."  
  
"Don't you talk about Wart like that!" Snowflake yelled. She launched herself towards Changeling, only to find her body frozen in place by magic. Snowflake felt her mind submerge itself in panic as she tried to struggle out of the bonds placed upon her. Changeling cackled madly as she froze Spyro and Ripto in place too.

"I see your fairy tale has come to an end, Snowflake." With a wave of her right hand, dark blue tendrils of ice rose from the ground and wrapped themselves around Snowflake's immobilized body. Snowflake whimpered as the vine-like crystals wrapped themselves around her snout. "In the real world, good does not always win. That's why Otpir was able to rule Avalar. And like you, the old fool fell before my power."  
  
Ripto made a wordless cry of anger as more of Changeling's hideous vines appeared from the ground. Snowflake watched helplessly as Spyro and Ripto were bound as well, unable to flee or escape. "And now, Avalar's rightful ruler will rise. You three should consider yourselves lucky. You're going to be the first to witness the rise of Queen Changeling, Ruler of Avalar."

With a flick of her tail, Changeling commanded the vines to spin Snowflake, Ripto, and Spyro so that they were all facing the six podiums. All of them watched as Changeling casually sought out the correct podiums and placed in the Yellow, Purple, and Silver Gigas Crystals so that they were locked in place like their three siblings. Only Snowflake noticed a shadow quickly dart across the wall, signaling the appearance of an unknown visitor. For once, she was thankful of the vines because Changeling didn't even see her smile.

The room filled with a melodious humming sound as the six elemental jewels of power were locked in place, never to be guarded by Guardians again. The beams of light switched directions so that they fell on Changeling, the one that placed the last Gigas Crystal in. Ripto and Spyro protested loudly despite their position. Changeling shouted in glee as the light shone brighter until it cloaked her entire form.  
  
**"YES! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!"** The light faded, and all three of the reptiles felt their hearts sink. Changeling now held two Gigas Crystals in her hands. The one in her left hand was as black as her heart, like it was cut from the void of which everyone goes once they breathed their final breath. The Crystal in her right hand was as white as the feathers off an angel's wings and it contained an immense beauty of its own. It was the Black Gigas Crystal that commanded death in all its forms and the White Gigas Crystal that commanded life, and now they were Changeling's.

"So, any last words before I show you why you shouldn't have crossed me?" Changeling asked. Snowflake made a gesture to show that she couldn't talk, so Changeling used her magic to free Snowflake's mouth from immobility. Snowflake took a moment to return the circulation to her jaw before speaking.  
  
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." Snowflake said, watching the person behind Changeling prepare an attack that will hopefully free Snowflake and her friends from the cat's evil bounds. "Surprise!"  
  
Before Changeling could figure out the meaning of the word, a flash of green light hit Changeling from behind. Several things happened at once. The palace was filled with the cat's screech of pain as she sailed through the air and onto her back. Changeling's magic became disabled, and soon the tendrils wrapped around the three reptiles crumbled into dust. As Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto regained power of their limbs, a Gigas Crystal landed on the ground just inches from Snowflake's arm. It was the White Gigas Crystal, and it was dropped during Changeling's short trip through the air.  
  
Changeling turned to her attacker, and nearly cried out in fear. It was Eledor, but from the looks of it, she wasn't the little rhynoc girl that Laigon and Wart kidnapped from Kraken's cave anymore. Her eyes glowed with an intense hate that made even Changeling shiver, and the air around her was buzzing with black magic. Even though Eledor didn't speak, everyone in Diamond Palace knew what she was thinking. '_You killed Wart, and now I'm going to make you pay._'

"Insolent little girl!" Changeling shouted, her confidence returning. Snowflake felt her blood freeze when she saw the Black Gigas Crystal still in Changeling's left hand. Eledor only glared maliciously at Changeling and sent another wave of green magic at her. The bolt could've easily killed Snowflake, Spyro, or Ripto if they were the targets, but Changeling was more skilled in magic then them. With the power of the Black Gigas, the magic dissipated in front of her.

"DIE!" Changeling shouted. The Black Gigas Crystal shone brightly in her hand. Eledor gave a strangled gasp and then dropped to the floor. Snowflake, Ripto, and Spyro stared at the female rhynoc and saw that her chest was not moving. They had just saw the magic of the Black Gigas Crystal perform its work.  
  
"Y-You killed her!" Spyro stammered. The villainess kicked the corpse aside with her foot.  
  
"Yes, and I can kill more then just her." The Black Gigas Crystal began to glow once again in her hand, its dark magic surging through her veins. "I command you all to die!"

Ice began to spread to Snowflake's lungs. She gave a startled gasp as warmth began to suck out of her body. Spyro and Ripto hit the floor beside her, already dead from the magic. Snowflake could feel fear pounding through her head, but confusion arose as she stood there with her veins as cold as Winter Tundra. _Wait...Why am I still alive?_  
  
The White Gigas Crystal, still clutched in her right hand, began to pulsate with magic. Snowflake felt warmth return to her body. Changeling made a gasp of surprise as she saw the dragon still standing, while her friends Spyro and Ripto lay next to her feet, dead as Eledor. The white dragon, still staring in disbelief at Spyro and Ripto's corpses, heard a voice in her head as soft as silk.

'_...You must not die, my granddaughter. Evil will not win a second time...'_  
  
"How did you survive?" Changeling hissed. Snowflake could only shake her head in amazement in response. She still couldn't believe the fact that she survived a spell that had killed the hero and villain of Avalar. The Black Gigas Crystal still pulsated with black magic as Changeling brought it forth a second time. "Very well then. If that last spell can't kill you, then maybe this one will!" She pointed the Black Gigas Crystal towards the skylight.  
  
"NO!" Snowflake found will to speak, but it didn't stop Changeling from sending a spell into the cosmos. The dragon could only watch as the black magic blocked the sun and spread towards the armies still fighting.

"Look outside, Dragon." The villainess commanded. Snowflake slowly walked out of the Diamond Palace like a zombie, keeping her eye on the horizon and watching the Gigas Crystal of death command its power over the land. Tears filled the back of her eyes when she saw every creature in the Blood-Soaked Plains dropped silently to the ground in the same fashion that Eledor, Spyro, and Ripto did. Scorch and Incinder dropped from the sky limply and landed on the still forms of soldiers below them. Grunge, Bane, and Kraken, whose forms towered above all the other fighters, gave surprised growls before they too succumbed to the Black Gigas spell.

Every last person that had gotten themselves tangled in the events of the Gigas Crystals was now dead. Elora will never give Snowflake another job to do. Kraken will never steal another boatload of treasure. Grendor will never see his sister again. They were all dead, and Changeling was their murderer. Snowflake's sorrow turned into fury. She turned her head to Changeling, tears of anger flowing down her face.

"YOU MONSTER!" All the experiences Snowflake had spent with all of her friends fueled her fury. With a wordless scream of rage, Snowflake shot herself towards Changeling and knocked her over. Dragon and cat rolled across the ground, the light of their Gigas Crystals combining to form an abstract Ying-Yang. They finally rolled to a stop, with Changeling on the bottom staring up at bloodshot green eyes.

"Power needs not the fools that follow the wrong side. If they were alive at the time I become ruler, they would've made my government weaker. Your _boyfriend_ would've done the same thing!" Changeling retorted. Snowflake only snarled in reply. The Swiftclaw kicked upwards and freed herself from the dragon's tight hold. She picked up her sword.  
  
"Oh, well. I guess I have to kill you the old-fashioned way!" Changeling said, waving her bloody sword in front of her as a form of a threat. Snowflake gave a confident smile that mimicked Ripto's egotistical grin as she picked up the only weapon she could find; Ripto's jeweless scepter. She attached the White Gigas Crystal to it, creating a scepter of her own.

"I do believe you're mistaken, Changeling. Death is a powerful thing, but another powerful thing is the person who saw her best friends die." Snowflake raced to meet her attacker, and swung Ripto's scepter at Changeling's sword. Changeling, who was very confident that she could beat someone half her age, held up her sword to block the attack. To her surprise, the White Gigas Crystal shattered the sword into a million pieces on impact.

"What?" Changeling asked shortly before she was knocked backwards by a swing of a scepter. For once, Changeling was at the blunt of the attacks. Snowflake swung the White Gigas Crystal scepter repeatively at Changeling. Her movements were not her own, but rather the combined force of four different people. Her confidence and magic-wielding skills came from Ripto, her confidence and will to succeed came from Spyro, her ability to find weak spots in her attacker and hit them came from Wart, and the raw fury came from herself. Changeling found herself knocked senseless around by the combined force of four Gigas Holders.

CRACK!

Changeling stumbled and fell when a well-aimed blow caused her leg bone to shatter. The blue-furred cat looked up at Snowflake with purple eyes filled with pain. She growled in annoyance. "H-How...did you...do that?" The cat asked tears of pain flowing down her face. Snowflake pointed the scepter at Changeling. The voice that arose from her voice was cold and cruel.

"You've lost, Changeling. Evil will not win this time..."

"But...But I have the power of death! Nothing is more powerful then death itself!" Changeling whined. Snowflake was disgusted. Here, the murderer of two armies and her best friends stood before her and protesting like a little child that lost her lollipop.

"Correction. There is something more powerful then death, and that is life!" Snowflake then pulled the White Gigas Crystal free from the scepter and pointed it at Changeling's chest. Snowflake wanted her statement to strike fear into the heart of her enemy, but all she did was to cause hysterics into the murderer. Changeling, despite the fact that she was beaten into a pulp by her attacker, kept laughing at the foolish remark.

"What are you going to do, Ms. Lover of Life? Are you going to heal me to death?" Changeling hissed. She tried to stand up, but her hurt leg crumpled underneath her. She didn't have the power to heal herself, now that the Gigas Crystals were no longer hers to command.

"No, but I think it's better if you tangled with the lives you've stolen from my friends..." Snowflake closed her eyes, letting her consciousness seep from her body into the crystal. A flash of white light erupted from the gem, and then something horrendous happened.

Silvery-blue light began to pour out of the mouths of her dead friends. Changeling backed away a couple of inches when she saw the light form into the shapes of Spyro, Ripto and Eledor, their eyes nothing more then empty eye sockets. The souls of the two reptilian heroes and the rhynocian sorceress could only blankly stare at their killer, but the sight of them chilled Changeling's black heart.  
  
"No...It can't be..." Changeling's jaw hung slack when more silvery blue lights filled the spacious chamber of the Diamond Palace. Snowflake could only watch as the magic she commanded brought the souls of all the creatures that died from Changeling's magic to her need. Both the dragon and the cat furry saw the faces of familiar creatures that joined them on their quest. Grendor, Cobra the snake cook, Bane, and many others stood staring ahead with empty eye sockets that saw nothing.

But Changeling was frightened mostly by the spirit standing right in front of her. It was that of a horned dragon with one ear, a chipped tail, a ripped wing, and a large gaping hole in the middle of his stomach. Silvery-blue blood still dripped out of the wounds as the ghost of Wart stepped forwards. He turned his head, dream-like, and stared at the body of Eledor, her body limp from the spell that took her life away. A single tear left his eye socket as Wart's face twisted in anger. "Killing me was not enough for you. You had to kill the one person that cared for me too, Changeling."

Changeling pointed the solid black Gigas Crystal at him, her voice trembling. "Wart! I swear, I never wanted to do those things to you. The Gigas Crystals made me-" Changeling's voice was cut off by the specter's voice. It rose from the earth itself as it droned lifelessly to Changeling.

"My name is not Wart. That is the name that you gave me when you inflicted me these mutations. The name that you shall remember me by, with your final breath, will be Airazor Volgeri."

The dragon named Airazor then gave a mighty roar. Snowflake and Changeling both cringed. It was a horrifying and lifeless sound that filled both of them with sadness, hopelessness, and emptiness. The other spirits reacted to this sound. In unison, they all turned their attention to the ghost of Wart.

"Changeling, for your crimes against Avalar, you shall receive the punishment that fits your evilness most appropriately." Wart droned. He lifted a single finger and pointed it at Changeling. "I punish you...with the death of a thousand deaths. For all eternity, you will die and continue dying, and your soul will never reach the other plane."

Snowflake gasped. Even for Changeling, that punishment seemed severe. It was one thing to kill someone. It was another to prevent their soul from accessing the afterlife. Suddenly, the whole room was filled with the lifeless screams of the dead. The spirits all surged towards their killer in a single force. Snowflake could only watch helplessly as the White Gigas Crystal's magic did its work. Changeling clawed and screamed as the souls all pushed her towards the swirling cauldron of raw magic.  
  
"No, this can't be! I was invincible! I can't die now!" She shouted. The spirits kept going with the force of a river, unaffected by their victim's struggles. Changeling made a strangled cry as she felt the ground disappear underneath her feet.  
  
"NOOOOO!" Changeling fell into the swirling abyss with a splash. The spirits, unaffected by the magic, floated above the pit and watched as Changeling met her end in the raw materials of Avalar's magic. Snowflake could hear a faint mewing sound rise from the pit, like that of an injured kitten, shortly before the screaming and the struggling stopped. Snowflake gasped in horror, but the spirits just kept watching.  
  
Fwoosh!  
  
The strange sound that had alerted Snowflake of an intruder in Winter Tundra all those weeks ago erupted from the pit. Suddenly, a beam of purple light poured out of the abyss until something rose from the abyss.  
  
It was a giant crystal, colored in all the untamed colors that Snowflake saw in the cauldron of untamed magic. It slowly rose from the abyss, it's large form filling the hole leading to Avalar's dangerous magic. The six Gigas Crystals in the pedestals reacted to this appearance of the crystal, and with a crackle of static electricity, the six Gigas Crystals lit the dark crystal up with six separate beams of elemental magic.

The spirits and Snowflake cheered when the six combined lights of the Gigas Crystals showed the form inside the crystal. It was Changeling, her eyes gazing out of the crystal but seeing nothing, her body twisted in a way that seemed unnatural, her mouth agape at the horrors she saw. She was dead, and until the end of time, her body will remain in a place that she had always wanted to be; cloaked in the light of six Gigas Crystals. Now and forever.

One by one, the silvery blue forms of all the creatures that passed away disappeared, back to the great beyond. They all faded away except for five that lingered. Snowflake felt tears come to her eyes when she saw Spyro, Ripto, Wart, Elora, and Eledor standing before her. They rose their hands in a wave, and Snowflake silently responded.

When they gave her a sad look and disappeared completely, Snowflake found herself smiling. All the strength leaving her body, the dragon collapsed to the ground near the bodies of Spyro and Ripto. She tried as hard as she could to stand up or even move, but all she could do was lie there next to her two dead friends, the White Gigas Crystal still clutched in her right hand. Her willpower wasn't strong enough to stop the blackness from seeping into her consciousness. Before Snowflake passed out, she whispered two words to herself, no living ears ever hearing her.  
  
"...we...won..."

* * *

No one knew exactly how long the white dragon maiden lay there unconscious against the bodies of her deceased friends. She slept dreamlessly in a coma among Spyro and Ripto, unaware of how cold their bodies were compared to hers. With each exhale, Spyro's wing fluttered in her breath, imitating the life it once contained. 

The Diamond Palace was a desolate place, surrounded with bodies of over thirty thousand fighters, good and evil slumped together. Lizardmen and rhynocs recruited by Grendor lay dead on the ground, their weapons still clutched in their hands. Bane, who had several of Changeling's soldiers crushed in his mouth, was stretched out on the ground with his scales glittering in the sun. Even the Guardians were unable to escape Changeling's spell; A large squid-like dragon lay among a pile of dead leaf litter and the ash of a phoenix.

Somewhere away from the battlefield, the corpse of a large bat-like creature had fallen near the newly killed body of Wart, the leader of the Peacekeepers. The little dragon was laid gently underneath the shade of the only tree in the plains. Not a sound disturbed this area of death except for the sea dragon machines that some of the Peacekeepers used to pilot. They still stomped around mindlessly with their operators slumped over the controls. Other then that, the land was like Judgment Day had come.

In the light of the sun, a shadow fell on the form of the white dragon. The sudden change in light made her eyelids flutter. A winged figure stepped over Spyro's corpse to whisper into Snowflake's ear. "Awaken, my child. It's not wise to sleep here..."

"G-Grandmother?" Snowflake rasped, her eyes shielding the blinding white light in front of her.

In front of her was the figure of a white dragon of the same shape as Snowflake. However, this dragon looked a lot older and a lot wiser then Snowflake. The dragon's webbed ears were long and elegant, running down from her head to the back of her shoulders. A billowy gown of dark red surrounded the dragon, designed in such a way that it didn't get in the way of her wings. What Snowflake noticed the most were the wings. Instead of the usual draconic webbed wings, the dragon had wings made of the downiest feathers of pure white.

"Yes, my granddaughter. I am here for you." Snowflake's grandmother confirmed. Her voice was soft, yet firm and full of the responsibility that only an elder could have.

"Grandma Passiflora?" Snowflake put a hand out in front of her to touch her grandmother's face. She let out a cry when her claws went right through the figure in front of her. Tears began to flow from the young dragon's eyes when she remembered. Her mother always told her that Passiflora had died in the Battle of Wind Valley that happened when Stormwing tried to rise to power in her world, but Snowflake knew the truth. Just as Spyro and Ripto died when Changeling tried to rise into power, Passiflora died protecting the crystals from Otpir.

"Do not cry for me, my granddaughter. I have been dead for over twenty years."  
  
"...Am I dead?" Snowflake murmured. Passiflora shook her head. "No. I am nothing but the Guardian of the Crystal you hold in your hands."  
  
Snowflake looked down on the White Gigas Crystal and then back at her Grandmother. She was still groggy, but she remembered something that one of her friends told her shortly before Changeling killed them. "But Robin said that the White and Black Gigas Crystals don't have Guardians..."

"Course they have Guardians! Robin doesn't know what's she talking about!" Snowflake flinched when she heard a voice behind her. She turned her head, and saw a large orange Riptoc bigger then Changeling standing behind the corpse of Ripto. He had a single horn on his head that split down the middle to form ram's horns near the Riptoc's head. He wore black and white robes much in the fashion that Ripto did, and he held a large staff the size of Snowflake in his left hand. Despite him having claws on his hands and feet, a tail behind him, and sharp teeth, Snowflake knew exactly who he was.  
  
"Otpir?" Snowflake asked.

Otpir the Merciless smiled and said. "Yep, that's my name. I guess even with the Guardians, Changeling still got her dirty claws on the Black Gigas Crystal. And just as I feared, she killed my son." He walked over to the giant crystal and tapped his staff on the place where Changeling was the most visible. "You even killed Changeling in the process! You have guts, kid! Real guts!"

Snowflake didn't take any pride in knowing that, like Changeling, she was the cause of a death. "Ripto's your son? But that must mean that-"  
  
"-I'm his father? Yeah, afraid so. I had many sons and daughters, but Ripto was the tiniest I've ever seen. When he was born, he had no claws, no tail, no anything! And lo and behold, he didn't grow much during his young life."

"Such a shame he's dead." Snowflake sighed. Tears began to flow from her eyes when the truth dawned upon her. They darkened the tiles around her as she let all her sadness translate into tears. "Everyone is dead. Everyone!"

"Not exactly." Otpir said. He picked up the Black Gigas Crystal. "Just because my Gigas Crystal can kill doesn't mean that you can't bring them back. There was a reason why the Elders made two crystals, you know."

The information dawned slowly on Snowflake. It seemed impossible. "You mean you can bring everyone back?" Passiflora only nodded in reply.

"Place the White Gigas Crystal on Ripto's body, and I'll do the rest." Passiflora instructed. Snowflake slowly walked to the still form of Ripto the sorcerer and bent down on her knees. She couldn't help but let some drops fall from her eyes when she stared face to face with Ripto's corpse. A quivering hand placed the gem on his forehead.  
  
Passiflora started to hum, a peaceful sound that filled Snowflake with a fuzzy kind of warmth. The White Gigas Crystal started to grow hot in her hands, and Ripto's form started to glow. The glowing ceased as quickly as it came, and Ripto quickly opened his eyes.  
  
"What am I doing on the gr-?" Ripto was cut off when Snowflake gave him a hug. Her eyes were wet with tears as she felt Ripto's heart beat against hers. It was too good to be true. After seeing his soul attack Changeling, she was thoroughly convinced that nothing could bring him back. In her joy and Ripto's confusion, Passiflora picked up the White Gigas Crystal and revived Spyro and Eledor.

"Was I dreaming all that or did I really die?" Snowflake heard Spyro ask. The dragon unwrapped herself from Ripto and smiled at her now living dragon friend.  
  
"It was all a dream, Spyro. Nothing more then a bad dream." She said. The white dragon noticed that Eledor seemed no longer crazy with grief from Wart's death. She only gazed around in a confused manner, as if she had no idea why she was in the Diamond Palace. Snowflake then knew the answer when she saw the look that Passiflora gave her. The White Gigas Crystal could also clear impurities of the body and the mind. She had healed Eledor from the insanity that seized her in her sadness, and now the rhynoc was back to her old self.

"Come, children. We must heal the others." The soft voice of Passiflora instructed. Only then did Snowflake notice that her grandmother didn't actually stand on the ground, but hovered a few inches off the ground. The angelic dragon ghost led Ripto, Snowflake, Eledor, Spyro, and Otpir out of the Diamond Palace. Spyro, Ripto, and Eledor, who were not alive to witness the death of the two armies, froze in their spots when they set their eyes on the destruction.

"...What happened?" Spyro choked out as his eyes scanned across the horizon. Nothing but dead forms and uncontrolled sea dragon machines met his eyes. Beside him, Ripto made a choking sound as if he was keeping himself from vomiting. Eledor started crying hysterically when she saw Bane lying dead in the distance. Passiflora and Otpir both felt like they were the ones responsible for the mess, for their ghostly forms were slumped shamefully.  
  
"I'm sorry I had to marry a girl like her. I should've killed her when I had the chance." Otpir whimpered, no longer possessing his boastful tone of voice.  
  
"There, there. We all make mistakes. Now, before I restore all these poor souls back into the land of the living, I have to show you all something." Passiflora said, her voice as smooth as silk. Her ghostly form then began to glide over the Blood-Soaked Plains, passing through any bodies in her path. Snowflake, Ripto, Spyro, and Eledor had to walk through the morbid maze of bodies.

Passiflora led the four heroes away from the dead armies and to a hilly area shaded underneath a single ancient oak tree. Wart lay there, a smile still on his cold, dead lips. If it wasn't for the fact that anyone could easily see the battle wounds and the large gaping hole in his stomach, one would suspect that he died a peaceful death.  
  
"...Poor Wart. If only we could've helped him." Snowflake found herself saying. Passiflora glided towards the mangled body and wrapped a ghostly tail around the dragon's chest. She grimaced at the deep wound that had spelled the end for the brave creature, but it didn't put an end to her grace.  
  
"Hand me the White Gigas Crystal, Snowflake. Maybe there's something I can do." Passiflora instructed. Snowflake didn't hesitate to give the legendary gem to her grandmother. The white dragon hummed to herself as she held the White Gigas Crystal in one hand and gently caressed Wart's head in the other.

"_Restoration is the key, bring Wart's soul back to me._" Passiflora chanted. The White Gigas Crystal glimmered in her hand so brightly that Snowflake, Spyro, Ripto, and Eledor had to look away. The White Gigas Guardian placed the gem gently on the sword wound on Wart's stomach and the glowing transferred from the gem into Wart's body. Soon, his entire form was cloaked with white light.

The glowing faded, revealing a dragon with smooth gray scales, wings made of the softest leather, and a horn the color of the purest pink. The only sign that he was ever the slave of Changeling was a ragged pink scar that ran vertical down his stomach, showing exactly where the blade entered his body. Wart opened an eye and rose into a sitting position, gazing at the people staring at him with beautiful dark brown eyes. "Why is everybody staring at me? Did I mutate into something worse then a pickled toad with wings?" The healed Wart asked. 

"No. Something better." Eledor could only say, her eyes filled with tears of joy. Wart scratched his head in confusion, and then made a startled grunt when he didn't feel any bumpy warts underneath his claws. He raised his claws out in front of him and looked down at perfectly normal arms. His jaw dropped. "I-I'm normal again!?! But how?"  
  
"It's my way of saying thank you for giving my granddaughter a fighting chance. If you didn't throw yourself on Changeling's sword, Changeling would've gotten to the Gigas Crystals first and would've summoned the death spell on Snowflake as well as Spyro and Ripto. You gave Avalar the chance it needed, and you deserved the impurities to be washed from your body in thanks."

Wart grinned. "I guess I can't call myself Wart anymore. From now on, refer to me as Airazor Volgeri." Eledor and the newly revived dragon embraced lovingly, both of them lost to the world in their happiness. As the rhynoc and the rhynoc/dragon hybrid hugged, Passiflora handed Snowflake the White Gigas Crystal.  
  
"You know what to do, granddaughter." Passiflora whispered. The white dragon nodded her head and held the White Gigas Crystal above her head. Just like Changeling did in the Diamond Palace, Snowflake sent a wave of magic into the sky.

For a moment, the sky became as white as pure marble. Suddenly, the magic began to do its work. One by one, Peacekeepers and Changeling's horde members alike rose to their feet and gazed around the land in confusion. The sea dragon machines ceased their aimless prowling as soon as their controllers sprang to life. Somewhere near the armies, a pile of ash burst into flame, forming a phoenix with purple eyes. Among the ranks of heroes and monsters, a single snake hissed in confusion.  
  
"What in hell happened? Wassss that a part of the plan?" Cobra hissed. When Laigon died, Changeling had appointed him Second in Commander shortly before the war started. He was about to call forth some troops when he felt a wand tickle his throat when Grendor stepped forward.  
  
"No, but I'll tell you your next move. Changeling is dead, and the war is over, so you better tell all of your troops to surrender or else." Grendor instructed. Cobra was about to protest when he saw the shadowy form of Otpir the Merciless appear behind the rhynoc. The snake bowed his head until his forehead touched the ground, for he was one of the few horde members that had served Otpir before Changeling took over.

"I sssshall obey." He replied. He then turned his attention to his army. Many of them, now regaining strength, were reaching for their dropped weapons in hopes of killing some Peacekeepers. "HORDEMEMBERSSSS! CHANGELING ISSS DEAD! WE HAVE LOSSST!" Cobra shouted at the top of his lungs. The horde members, while bloodthirsty, were loyal to Changeling. They murmured angrily as they listened to the instructions of their new commander.

The Peacekeepers cheered as the horde members all left under their new leader's command. One by one, they marched out of the plains and into the desert, never to be seen again by the winners of the war that determined the possession of the Gigas Crystals. Sgt. Byrd took the moment to send fireworks out of his cannons and into the skies, illuminating the day with the lights of their victory. Snowflake, Ripto, Spyro, Eledor, and Airazor all grinned at the idea of victory, and soon, they wasted no time in running down the grassy hill to join the others in their celebration.

In the happiness that filled the Plains, no one noticed the two lone ghosts fade away, their time in the living world spent. Passiflora and Otpir gave one final look at their flesh and blood before ascending into the heavens.

Otpir looked down at the living creatures below him and let a final tear flow from his eye shortly before disappearing completely from the living world. After twenty years in which the jewels of his power were hidden away from view, the legacy of the Gigas Crystals was finally over.

* * *

A week after the defeat of Changeling, Autumn Plains was abuzz with celebration.  
  
The entire courtyard was filled with celebrating creatures. Slaves that had been stuck in the dungeons in Castle Changeling since Otpir's death ate greedily from the many tables of food that were set up on the grass. Children from many different species were either seated by elderly slaves, listening to the tales woven or playing with the sea dragon machines that were originally intended to level an entire city to the ground.

Even the Guardians found themselves taken up with the celebration. Grunge was taking delight in telling stories to those willing to listen about his kingdom and the reign of Otpir the Merciless. Kraken and the High Chieftain Moss found themselves conversing about the years lost. Kraken even admitted to his sea dragon brother that when Moss's daughter Goldenscale had been sent to the trials to get the Blue Gigas Crystal, she had died in the attempt and ended up as a meal for Kraken.

"Well, thisss isss certainly awkward. I end up eating the only daughter to my younger brother..." Kraken laughed uncertainly, rubbing a slimy claw against his squid-like head. Moss said nothing, but one could tell that the old chieftain wasn't exactly happy about the news. As for Robin, Incinder, Squall, and Fissure, they were popular with the kiddies as they impressed them with their magnificent powers given to them by the Gigas Crystals.  
  
But most of the celebrators were formed into a crowd in front of a great stage. Cheers rose into the air as Snowflake, Spyro, and Ripto stood on the stage, awaiting their rewards. Elora tapped a finger on the microphone the Professor gave her shortly before talking into it.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen! I'd like to present to you the heroes of Avalar! Without these brave reptiles' help, Avalar would have to face the tyranny of Changeling Swiftclaw and the power of the eight Gigas Crystals. Now, I shall present to them their rewards."  
  
She stepped first over to Spyro. Spyro bowed his head and let Elora slide a medal across his neck. It was a medal with a blue gem set inside the golden face. The purple dragon beamed as Elora gave her congratulations. "Without Spyro's bravery, Azura City would've been leveled to the ground. As the Blue Gigas Holder, he has received the Medal of Azura, crafted by King Moss himself!" The crowd cheered wildly, drowning out the sound of everything else. Somewhere behind the audience, Kraken lifted his head and gave a mighty roar in honor of Spyro.

Elora then walked over to Snowflake. Snowflake gave her boss a handshake before receiving a medal with a green gem set inside. Grunge roared as Elora announced Snowflake's achievements.

"Snowflake is the person who made the threat of Changeling Swiftclaw known to Avalar. Without her selflessness, the Red Gigas Holder would've been lost at the hands of the cruel monster. The Green Gigas Holder has received the Medal of the Kingdom of Mist, for her ability to see beyond what most others see!" Snowflake could feel tears spring to her eyes.

Finally, Elora walked to Ripto. Elora shook her head, as if she didn't ever imagine herself doing this, before giving Ripto his medal. Ripto laughed hysterically as he held up his red gem-incrusted medal for all to see.

"Ripto, who was a rather big menace to us a while back, has gone against the odds to save Avalar from an even bigger threat. Ripto, son of the Avalarian tyrant Otpir the Merciless, receives the Medal of Otpir to honor his bloodline. We thank you Ripto, but don't use this chance to terrorize us again!" Elora shouted. Cheers rose from the crowd, but none were louder then the two dinosaurs standing beside Incinder the Guardian. Crush and Gulp, who were enslaved by Changeling shortly before she attacked Ripto in Winter Tundra, roared alongside Incinder.

"And, our final award goes to the one who helped us save Avalar. Without his courage and ability to tell right from wrong, Changeling would be ruling this land with an iron fist. I'd like to present the Medal of the Mystic Mountains to Airazor Volgeri, for tampering with Changeling's evil plans from behind her own ranks!"

Somewhere in the crowd, the dragon formerly known as Wart felt himself shoved towards the stage. Airazor stepped uneasily to the stage to receive his medal. As he felt the medal draped across his neck, he heard everyone in the crowd cheer. This was a dream come true for the dragon, for he felt himself crying tears of joy for such an honor.  
  
"Now, Moneybags will give them the next part of their awards." Elora said. Moneybags stepped onto the stage, and was greeted by boos from everyone watching. The fat bear gave a nervous laugh as he took the microphone from Elora.  
  
"I'm not known as being one to just donate my gems to charity..." Cries of agreement rose into the air. "...But without these fine young examples of heroism, I would've still been a slave to Changeling. And without further ado, I give them 10,000 gems each!"

Gasps were heard from the audience as Moneybags handed Snowflake, Ripto, Spyro, and Airazor large bags of money. Snowflake opened up her bag, gazing into the golden and purple gems she saw within. "This enough to pay my student loans!" She shouted.  
  
Airazor gazed at the gems in amazement. "I've never seen so much money in my life! Why are you so generous all of a sudden, Moneybags?" Several people in the crowd murmured in agreement at the dragon's statement. Moneybags took a handkerchief from a pocket and wrapped it across his brow.  
  
"I don't remember a worse time then the time when I was with Changeling. Before she handed me to Bane for him to eat," Bane the sea dragon nodded in acknowledgement, much to Grendor and Eledor's surprise. "She gave me to these lizardmen for them to have their fun. All night they scratched at me, yelled at me, and beat me! Their cold, hard stares and their razor-sharp teeth will haunt me for years to come!" And with that, Moneybags ran off the stairs as if he was pursued by the demons of his nightmares.

After the rewards were given, the festivities really began. Dancing, singing, and partying filled the air with a harmonious music of its own. Spyro, Ripto, and Airazor joined the party shortly after the rewards, and they were the life of the party. Spyro was soon telling the extravagant tales of his journeys as Ripto and Airazor added in their comments. For once, Avalarians were cheering for Ripto as he described the death of Jira, the leader of the Outlaws of the Balance, in great detail.

Only Snowflake didn't join the festivities. She was talking to Elora away from all the parties. Cloaked in the moonlight, the white dragon explained her current situation to her boss. "I guess you won't be working for me anymore, now that you have enough money to pay off your debts back in Tylia."

"Yeah." Snowflake watched as the night sky lit up with reds and greens as Sgt. Byrd set off more fireworks. She had enough money to pay off her student loans and prove to her human and phoenixican friends that she really could work, but that also meant that she had no reason to stay at Avalar anymore. Even though she had only stayed in the world of Avalar for two months, one of which was filled with the adventures of the Gigas Crystals, she felt like she knew this place her whole life. She leaned against the castle wall and sighed.  
  
"...You don't have to leave, you know." Elora suggested. She stared off into the distance, and was able to pick out Spyro's voice among the din of the festivities. "Just because you have debts in Tylia doesn't mean you can't stay in Avalar."

"But I promised to my friends that after I spent a few months in Avalar paying off my loans, I'd come back for good." Snowflake said. She absently let the gems in her money bag shift so that they tinkled lovingly against each other. Elora smiled at her ex-employee and said softly, "You have a choice, Snowflake. You can go back to Tylia, pay off your loans, and live as a Tylian dragon, just as you wanted to do back when I hired you. Or, you can go back to Tylia, pay off your loans, and live as an Avalarian citizen."

Snowflake made no indication that she heard the faun's words. She stared off into the night and thought long and hard about this. She remembered all the fun times she had with Crystal, Minerva, and Doomfeather back at Tylia. Ten years of childish bliss spent with a human, a blue phoenix, and a purple phoenix exploring the lands of Tylia and fighting off monsters like dracogriffs and hydras. She had spent most of her life in Tylia, and it was her home, her birthplace, and her society.

But then she remembered the fun times she had with Spyro and Ripto. She remembered the weeks spent with them, learning their personalities, becoming friends with the hero and villain of Avalar. And then, she remembered Castle Changeling. She remembered holding an unconscious Ripto against her, hoping that her embrace will somehow rekindle the life drained by Changeling. For the first time in her life, Snowflake actually knew that she was in love, and that love was for a dragon-hating riptoc that carried a scepter.  
  
Giving one final look at the festivities, Snowflake turned around and headed straight for a portal that would lead into her hometown called Willowbranch.

She had made her decision.

And in the end, it was what her heart had decided on.

* * *

_MEANWHILE..._

As the celebrations continued in Autumn Plains, a stray wind blew in the Forgotten Desert. Not a single soul was in this desert, and if it wasn't for the fact that several tents of raw hide laid there, one might suspect the desert as completely barren.

A red macaw flew across this desert, flapping with an injured gait. It was none other then Squawks, Changeling's pet parrot that once told her a month ago that Ripto was with Snowflake and Spyro, still alive. It seemed such a long time ago for the bird, and its memory just wasn't as good as its anthrotized counterparts.

"Caaaw?" the bird cooed. From below, something glimmered in the sun. Its short attention span got the better of it, for soon it was spiraling in a dive towards the strange new object. The bird then noticed that it was two scimitars buried in the sand point first so that they created a marker. Squawks landed on the marker, resting its wings. It saw these strange weapons before, but on whom?

Somewhere in front of the scimitars, the sand shifted. Squawks gave a confused whistle as the sand and grit started to rise. Suddenly, without warning, a yellow claw burst out of the sand followed by another. A sinister head with eyes burning with feral anger rose out of the sand, still crusted with blood.

"...Where's that dragon...?" A voice hissed in a tone that came from beyond the grave. Squawks watched with interest as the monster dug itself completely out of the sand, ignoring the grit pouring out of a wound that was still fresh. It was Laigon, the Slave Master that Wart had slewn fair and square during a match not too long ago. Little did Snowflake know that when she wished for all the lives that were taken away by the war to come back, she had wished for Laigon to be revived as well. The magic had been weakened from the long trip it took, as Laigon's sword wound was a very deep scar that still leaked blood and sand.

"Slave Master Laigon? You look horrible! Caw!" Squawks called out. Laigon just then noticed the bird sitting on his grave marker and smiled.

"Squawks. Tell me of Mistress Changeling. Did she win against the scum?" Laigon hissed.

"Caw! No, she has been murdered by dragon folk!" Squawks answered monotonously. For a few seconds, Laigon considered the words of the parrot. Then he threw himself to the ground and started screaming like a wounded animal in the knowledge that the only thing he loved in this world more then killing others was now dead. Tears flowed from his eyes and darkened the sand in a way his blood did a few days ago. Squawks was a bit uneasy about this display of feelings, so he added another comment onto the situation.  
  
"Weren't you Second in Command?" Suddenly, the intense sadness was replaced by a dark, sinister glee. Laigon rose from his position on the ground and gave Squawks a crazy look that frightened the young bird.  
  
"I was Second in Command when Changeling was the master, and now she's dead. That means that I'm in control of her entire army. I'm the master now! The lizardmen will listen to Laigon now!" He shouted. A new light twinkled in his eyes, a light that unnerved the nonanthromorphic parrot. Even with it's small brain, the parrot could see that his newly found power has gone to his head.  
  
"Uhhh...I guess I shall be leaving now..." Squawks said. The bird jumped off the perch and started to fly away.  
  
Laigon saw this as a test of his skills. The sea serpent wasted no time in unearthing one of his blades, blowing the sand of the poisonous surface, and then later tossing it in Squawk's direction. The blade hit home. Squawks fell to the ground, his left wing completely destroyed by the scimitar. "That's what happens when you disobey Master Laigon! You face me, and you face death!"

The last thing the parrot heard in its short life was the challenge Laigon issued to Spyro, Snowflake, and Ripto.  
  
"You may have killed Changeling, but you won't kill me reptiles! I'll show you who's the most powerful force on Avalar! **I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!!"**

**

* * *

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**THE END**

**I see I left room for a sequel. :)**

**Yes, yes. I bet you're all confused by the turn of the events. I'm sorry if the ending was not what you wanted it to be.**

**I was very happy as to how this story turned out. That's why I shall continue writing about the heroes and villains of Avalar in further stories, least of all not the sequel to this story known only as...**

**The Realms of Desolation**

**Be sure to keep an eye out for this sequel and more stuff at my website. Fanart, fanfanfiction, and more is at my site.**

**You must leave a review. After 14 months of writing this, you better!**


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